Emotional distress in adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic: a comparison of national samples

Most evidence on how the Covid-19 pandemic affected adolescent mental health relies on non-probability samples, which can yield unreliable estimates. This study aimed to compare emotional distress among individuals aged 15 years in 2018 and 2022 using nationally representative data from five countries and one territory (Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, Panama, Spain, and United Arab Emirates), and to examine how sociodemographic correlates of distress differed between these periods.