Depressive Symptoms among Chinese Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring Subgroups and Changes using Latent Profile and Transition Analyses

The primary goals of this longitudinal study were to identify subgroups of Chinese adolescents with different profiles of depressive symptoms and to explore predictors of the transitions between profiles. Participants were 694 adolescents (48.6% boys; M_age = 12.65 years; SD = 1.49) recruited in 2020 during an extended period of home quarantine. At baseline (T1) and then again one year later (T2), participants completed a series of self-reports (i.e., demographic characteristics, depressive symptoms, academic pressure, parent-children conflict). Results from latent profile analysis (LPA) yielded a three-depression subgroups solution: low depression (74.9% at T1/68.3% at T2); subthreshold depression (20.6%/24.5%), and probable clinical depression (4.9%/7.2%). Membership in the probable clinical depression group was predicted by academic pressure and parent-child conflict at both time points, and infected cases in the community at T1. Results from latent transition analysis (LTA) indicated greater stability in the low depression group (77.8%) than the probable clinical depression group (36.6%) from T1 to T2. Transitions between groups were predicted by academic pressure and parent-child conflict rather than infection risk. In conclusion, this study presents longitudinal evidence of changes in depression patterns among Chinese adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parent-child conflict is more likely to cause a transfer from lower to higher levels of depression, while academic pressure tends to maintain severe depression among those already experiencing probable clinical depression. The primary cause of distress among adolescents appears to be the social activities disruption, rather than the infection risk.