Anxiety and depressive symptoms among youth in Italy, Spain, and Portugal: a three-year post-pandemic study

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the population's lives. Stressful conditions during the lockdown and the reintroduction to a changed social environment emotionally affected children and adolescents. The aim of this work was to study anxiety and depressive symptoms in Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 years at different moments of the COVID-19 pandemic: April 2020 (during confinement), September 2020 (with the schools' reopening), and September 2023 (with the situation restored). Parents of 1,097 children participated in at least one assessment, completing measures of child emotional symptoms online. Cases with subclinical symptoms of anxiety and depression were higher compared to pre-pandemic studies. Overall, anxiety increased from April 2020 to September 2020, decreasing in September 2023 with no differences compared to the first assessment. Depression was high in April 2020 but decreased in September 2020, with no significant differences three years later, in September 2023. Cross-country comparisons at each point are discussed. Moreover, boys showed higher levels of depression during the pandemic compared to girls. Older children, compared to younger ones, had more anxiety and depressive symptoms throughout all the moments. These findings highlight the emotional impact of the pandemic and its conditions on children and adolescents.