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Three Years after the Pandemic: How has the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents Evolved? A Longitudinal Study in Italy, Spain, and Portugal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2025

Víctor Amorós-Reche Open the ORCID record for Víctor Amorós-Reche [Opens in a new window] ,
Alexandra Morales Open the ORCID record for Alexandra Morales [Opens in a new window] ,
Rita Francisco Open the ORCID record for Rita Francisco [Opens in a new window] ,
Elisa Delvecchio Open the ORCID record for Elisa Delvecchio [Opens in a new window] ,
Claudia Mazzeschi Open the ORCID record for Claudia Mazzeschi [Opens in a new window] ,
Cristina Godinho Open the ORCID record for Cristina Godinho [Opens in a new window] ,
Marta Pedro Open the ORCID record for Marta Pedro [Opens in a new window] ,
Jonatan Molina Open the ORCID record for Jonatan Molina [Opens in a new window] ,
Jose P. Espada Open the ORCID record for Jose P. Espada [Opens in a new window]  and
Mireia Orgilés Open the ORCID record for Mireia Orgilés [Opens in a new window]
Víctor Amorós-Reche*
Affiliation:
Universidad Miguel Hernández, Spain
Alexandra Morales
Affiliation:
Universidad Miguel Hernández, Spain
Rita Francisco
Affiliation:
Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal
Elisa Delvecchio
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy
Claudia Mazzeschi
Affiliation:
Università degli Studi di Perugia, Italy
Cristina Godinho
Affiliation:
Universidade NOVA de Lisboa, Portugal
Marta Pedro
Affiliation:
Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Portugal
Jonatan Molina
Affiliation:
Universidad Miguel Hernández, Spain Universidad Europea de Valencia, Spain
Jose P. Espada
Affiliation:
Universidad Miguel Hernández, Spain
Mireia Orgilés
Affiliation:
Universidad Miguel Hernández, Spain
*
Corresponding author: Víctor Amorós-Reche; Email: vamoros@umh.es
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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly challenged the mental health of children and adolescents, with existing research highlighting the negative effects of restrictive measures to control the virus’s spread. However, in the specific context of this pandemic, there is limited understanding of how these difficulties have persisted over time after the situation was fully restored. This study sought to evaluate the pandemic’s impact on psychological symptoms in children from Italy, Spain, and Portugal across five-time points (2, 5, and 8 weeks, 6 months, and three and a half years after the pandemic’s onset). A total of 1613 parents completed the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 and Confinement on Children and Adolescents Scale, reporting symptoms in their children aged 3–17 years (39.2% female). The findings reveal an initial surge in psychological difficulties—anxiety, mood, sleep, behavioral, eating, and cognitive disturbances—followed by improvements in these domains three and a half years later. By September 2023, Spanish children experienced more significant reductions in symptoms compared to their Italian and Portuguese peers. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been a prolonged crisis, with varying impacts over time and across regions depending on the strictness of restrictions, the trends suggest a gradual improvement in the psychological well-being of children and adolescents.

Keywords

adolescentschildrenCOVID-19longitudinalmental health

Information

Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 28 , 2025 , e10
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de la Psicología de Madrid

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