[Epidemiology of mental well-being in childhood and adolescence. Results from three epidemiological studies before and during the COVID-19 pandemic].

BACKGROUND:Continuous nationwide health monitoring is important to track the well-being of children and adolescents and to map developmental trajectories. Based on the results of three selected epidemiological studies, developments in child well-being over the past 20 years are presented. METHODS:Data are based on (1) the mental health module of the German National Health Interview and Examination Survey among Children and Adolescents (BELLA study, 2003-2017, N = 1500 to 3000), which is a module of the KiGGS study; (2) the COvid-19 and PSYchological Health Study (COPSY, 2020-2022, N = 1600-1700), which is based on the BELLA Study; and (3) the International Health-Behaviour in School-aged Children Study (HBSC, 2002-2018, N = 4300-7300). Well-being was assessed in 7‑ to 17-year-olds using indicators of health-related quality of life (KIDSCREEN-10), life satisfaction (Cantril Ladder), and mental health problems (Strenghts and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED), and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC)). RESULTS:Overall, children and adolescents show consistently high health-related quality of life and high overall life satisfaction pre-pandemic (2002-2018), which initially worsened with the onset of the 2020 COVID-19-pandemic. Two years later, improvements are evident but have not yet reached baseline levels. Psychological problems, as well as symptoms of anxiety and depression, increased by up to 12 percentage points at the beginning of the pandemic and are still higher two years after the onset of the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic studies. CONCLUSION:The epidemiology of child well-being provides a necessary data basis to assess the support needs of children and adolescents and to use this as a basis for developing measures of health promotion, prevention, and intervention.