Special Issue: Demographic and Mental Health Assessments in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study: Updates and Longitudinal Trajectories

The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study of 11,880 youth incorporates a comprehensive range of measures assessing predictors and outcomes related to mental health across childhood and adolescence in participating youth, as well as information about family mental health history. We have previously described the logic and content of the mental health assessment battery at Baseline and Year 1. Here, we describe changes to that battery and issues and clarifications that have emerged, as well as additions to the mental health battery at the 2-, 3-, 4-, and 5-year follow-ups. We capitalize on the recent release of longitudinal data for caregiver and youth report of mental health data to evaluate trajectories of dimensions of psychopathology as a function of demographic factors. For both caregiver and self-reported mental health symptoms, males showed age-related decreases in internalizing and externalizing symptoms, while females showed an increase in internalizing symptoms with age. Multiple indicators of socioeconomic status (caregiver education, family income, financial adversity, neighborhood poverty) accounted for unique variance in both caregiver and youth-reported externalizing and internalizing symptoms. These data highlight the importance of examining developmental trajectories of mental health as a function of key factors such as sex and socioeconomic environment. ### Competing Interest Statement The authors have declared no competing interest. ### Funding Statement Grant Support: U01DA041120-01 (DMB, KS); U01DA041148 (ASP, MDA, JJH); U01DA041028 (DBC); U01DA041089 (SFT); U01DA041134 (DYT); U01DA041174 (NAK); U01DA041089 (MPP); U01DA041022 (DP); U01DA041106 (BZ); U01DA041117 (LC); U24DA041147 (TJ, SFT); K05AA017242 (KS); U01DA050988 (JJF); U01DA041148 (BJN); U24DA041123 (WKT); 1RF1MH120025 (WKT) ### Author Declarations I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained. Yes The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below: 20/21 sites relied on approval from a central IRB at the University of California at San Diego; Washington University relied on approval from the IRB at Washington University. All necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived. Yes I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance). Yes I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines and uploaded the relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material as supplementary files, if applicable. Yes All of the data are publically available through the National Data Archive