Mental Health and Physical Complaints of German Children and Adolescents before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

The potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people’s mental and physical health is of increasing concern. We examined the levels of internalizing and externalizing problem behavior and physical complaints before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. Data came from a repeated cross-sectional study on child and youth health in schools in Germany. Assessments took place from November to February each year. Two data collections were conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2018–2019 and in 2019–2020. Collections during the pandemic took place in 2020–2021 and 2021–2022. A total of 63,249 data observations were included in the analyses. Multilevel analyses were used to examine temporal trends in mean emotional problems (e.g., often unhappy, downhearted), hyperactivity-inattention (e.g., constantly fidgeting or squirming), conduct problems (e.g., fights with other children), and physical complaints. Models were adjusted for age, gender, school type, socioeconomic status, and sensation seeking. During the COVID-19 pandemic, children and adolescents in Germany experienced an increase in emotional problems from the pre-pandemic cohort 2019–2020 to the pandemic cohort 2021–2022 (β = 0.56, 95% CI (0.51–0.62)) and, over the course of the pandemic, reported elevated levels of physical complaints (β = 0.19, 95% CI (0.16–0.21)). Findings of increased emotional problems and physical complaints after the two years of the pandemic support the ongoing demand for low-threshold health promotion and prevention and the need for further monitoring of young people’s health in Germany.