Long term psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents and preadolescents in South India

Habib Khan Gulab Khan Pathan; Sadia Sarwath; Numeera Mirza; Fouzia Nikhath

doi:10.5455/jmas.234898

2025, Vol: 15, Issue: 2

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Original Article
Online Published: 13 Aug 2025

J Med Allied Sci. 2025; 15(2): 15-21

doi: 10.5455/jmas.234898

Long term psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents and preadolescents in South India

Habib Khan Gulab Khan Pathan, Sadia Sarwath, Numeera Mirza, Fouzia Nikhath.

Abstract
The adolescents and teens have had considerable effects on their mental health due to the global pandemic of COVID-19. In this present study, we have demonstrated their mental health post pandemic highlighting psychological effects associated with the epidemic. We used the convenience sampling method and questionnaires, such as Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, Patient Health Questionnaire and General Health Questionnaire, and were distributed to participating 229 individuals. Among all the risk factors, the factors significantly affecting mental health were lack of exercise, screen-time, male gender, age range. Male respondents had significantly higher levels of anxiety and mental health disorders compared to the female respondents. It was observed that 7(3%) who had no exercise or only less than 1 hour of exercise daily were suffering with severe depression. 11 (4.8%) individuals had severe problems with psychological distress and the majority of children were assessed with moderate to severe levels of anxiety. The results showed severe levels of anxiety and stress among respondents who had 2 to 5 hours and 6 to 9 hours of screen time. The results showed that a major proportion of individuals who had severe levels of anxiety, depression and distress belonged to the 15-18 years. Our findings indicate that the COVID-19 had a major psychological impact on teenagers and adolescents. This calls for better interventions specially formulated to cater to the psychological health of teenagers and adolescents.

Key words: Adolescent, COVID-19, Post pandemic, Psychological impact, South India

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How to Cite this Article

Pubmed Style

Pathan HKGK, Sarwath S, Mirza N, Nikhath F. Long term psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents and preadolescents in South India. J Med Allied Sci. 2025; 15(2): 15-21. doi:10.5455/jmas.234898

Web Style

Pathan HKGK, Sarwath S, Mirza N, Nikhath F. Long term psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents and preadolescents in South India. https://jmas.in/?mno=234898 [Access: June 22, 2026]. doi:10.5455/jmas.234898

AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Pathan HKGK, Sarwath S, Mirza N, Nikhath F. Long term psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents and preadolescents in South India. J Med Allied Sci. 2025; 15(2): 15-21. doi:10.5455/jmas.234898

Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Pathan HKGK, Sarwath S, Mirza N, Nikhath F. Long term psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents and preadolescents in South India. J Med Allied Sci. (2025), [cited June 22, 2026]; 15(2): 15-21. doi:10.5455/jmas.234898

Harvard Style

Pathan, H. K. G. K., Sarwath, . S., Mirza, . N. & Nikhath, . F. (2025) Long term psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents and preadolescents in South India. J Med Allied Sci, 15 (2), 15-21. doi:10.5455/jmas.234898

Turabian Style

Pathan, Habib Khan Gulab Khan, Sadia Sarwath, Numeera Mirza, and Fouzia Nikhath. 2025. Long term psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents and preadolescents in South India. Journal of Medical and Allied Sciences, 15 (2), 15-21. doi:10.5455/jmas.234898

Chicago Style

Pathan, Habib Khan Gulab Khan, Sadia Sarwath, Numeera Mirza, and Fouzia Nikhath. "Long term psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents and preadolescents in South India." Journal of Medical and Allied Sciences 15 (2025), 15-21. doi:10.5455/jmas.234898

MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Pathan, H. K. G. K., Sarwath, . S., Mirza, . N. & Nikhath, . F. (2025) Long term psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of adolescents and preadolescents in South India. Journal of Medical and Allied Sciences, 15 (2), 15-21. doi:10.5455/jmas.234898

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