{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T17:17:59Z","timestamp":1790270279968,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":49,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,31]],"date-time":"2023-01-31T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1675123200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001711","name":"Swiss National Science Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["32003B_163379"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32003B_163379"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001711","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"Federal Office of Public Health of Switzerland","award":["32003B_163379"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32003B_163379"]}]},{"name":"Uniscientia Foundation","award":["32003B_163379"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["32003B_163379"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Most of the studies that examine the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health have been restricted to pandemic mental health data alone. The aim of the current study was to estimate the pandemic\u2019s effect on young Swiss adults\u2019 mental health by comparing pandemic to pre-pandemic mental health. Longitudinal data of 1175 young Swiss adults who participated in the S-YESMH study in 2018 and were followed-up in 2020 and 2021 were analyzed. The study outcomes were self-reported symptoms of depression, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), attention-deficit\/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), thoughts about death or self-harm, and risky single-occasion drinking (RSOD). Generalized estimation equations, logistic regression and statistical mediation analysis were used to analyze the data. Evidence was found of increased depression, GAD, and ADHD among young women and increased depression among young men, resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Uncertainty about the future predicted young women\u2019s depression and anxiety in 2021. COVID-19 stress in 2021 fully mediated the effect of COVID-19 stress in 2020 on depression and GAD in 2021. Young Swiss women\u2019s and men\u2019s mental health appears to have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially during the second pandemic year. Uncertainty about the future and stress becoming chronic in 2021 likely explain some of the adverse effects.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph20032598","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,1]],"date-time":"2023-02-01T02:29:03Z","timestamp":1675218543000},"page":"2598","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":24,"title":["The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Adults\u2019 Mental Health in Switzerland: A Longitudinal Cohort Study from 2018 to 2021"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6211-0446","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Simon","family":"Foster","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8349-2295","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Natalia","family":"Est\u00e9vez-Lamorte","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland"},{"name":"La Source, School of Nursing Sciences, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland, 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Susanne","family":"Walitza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8595-0923","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Meichun","family":"Mohler-Kuo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychiatric University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, 8032 Zurich, Switzerland"},{"name":"La Source, School of Nursing Sciences, HES-SO University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Western Switzerland, 1004 Lausanne, Switzerland"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,31]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mohler-Kuo, M., Dzemaili, S., Foster, S., Werlen, L., and Walitza, S. (2021). Stress and Mental Health among Children\/Adolescents, Their Parents, and Young Adults during the First COVID-19 Lockdown in Switzerland. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health, 18.","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph18094668"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"113819","DOI":"10.1016\/j.psychres.2021.113819","article-title":"Effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on mental health, wellbeing, sleep, and alcohol use in a UK student sample","volume":"298","author":"Evans","year":"2021","journal-title":"Psychiatry Res."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"567","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2021.09.098","article-title":"A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal cohort studies comparing mental health before versus during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020","volume":"296","author":"Robinson","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Affect. Disord."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"912","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(20)30460-8","article-title":"The psychological impact of quarantine and how to reduce it: Rapid review of the evidence","volume":"395","author":"Brooks","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"334","DOI":"10.1192\/bjp.2020.242","article-title":"Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in two longitudinal UK population cohorts","volume":"218","author":"Kwong","year":"2021","journal-title":"Br. J. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"883","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(20)30308-4","article-title":"Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal probability sample survey of the UK population","volume":"7","author":"Pierce","year":"2020","journal-title":"Lancet Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"32","DOI":"10.15288\/jsa.2003.64.32","article-title":"Alcohol involvement and developmental task completion during young adulthood","volume":"64","author":"Gotham","year":"2003","journal-title":"J. Stud. Alcohol"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"251","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(15)00508-8","article-title":"The increasing global health priority of substance use in young people","volume":"3","author":"Degenhardt","year":"2016","journal-title":"Lancet Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"281","DOI":"10.1038\/s41380-021-01161-7","article-title":"Age at onset of mental disorders worldwide: Large-scale meta-analysis of 192 epidemiological studies","volume":"27","author":"Solmi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Mol. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"593","DOI":"10.1001\/archpsyc.62.6.593","article-title":"Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication","volume":"62","author":"Kessler","year":"2005","journal-title":"Arch. Gen. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1049","DOI":"10.15585\/mmwr.mm6932a1","article-title":"Mental Health, Substance Use, and Suicidal Ideation During the COVID-19 Pandemic\u2014United States, June 24\u201330, 2020","volume":"69","author":"Czeisler","year":"2020","journal-title":"MMWR Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep."},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110236","DOI":"10.1016\/j.pnpbp.2020.110236","article-title":"Younger people are more vulnerable to stress, anxiety and depression during COVID-19 pandemic: A global cross-sectional survey","volume":"109","author":"Varma","year":"2021","journal-title":"Prog. Neuropsychopharmacol. Biol. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Elmer, T., Mepham, K., and Stadtfeld, C. (2020). Students under lockdown: Comparisons of students\u2019 social networks and mental health before and during the COVID-19 crisis in Switzerland. PLoS ONE, 15.","DOI":"10.31234\/osf.io\/ua6tq"},{"key":"ref_14","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"734","DOI":"10.1111\/aphw.12344","article-title":"Longitudinal effects of COVID-19-related stressors on young adults\u2019 mental health and wellbeing","volume":"14","author":"Graupensperger","year":"2022","journal-title":"Appl. Psychol. Health Well Being"},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2016632118","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2016632118","article-title":"Lifestyle and mental health disruptions during COVID-19","volume":"118","author":"Giuntella","year":"2021","journal-title":"Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA"},{"key":"ref_16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"131","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2020.09.065","article-title":"Depression reported by US adults in 2017-2018 and March and April 2020","volume":"278","author":"Daly","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Affect. Disord."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1261","DOI":"10.1007\/s00127-021-02194-7","article-title":"Mental distress among young adults in Great Britain: Long-term trends and early changes during the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"57","author":"Gagne","year":"2021","journal-title":"Soc. Psychiatry Psychiatr. Epidemiol."},{"key":"ref_18","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"603","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychires.2020.10.035","article-title":"Psychological distress and adaptation to the COVID-19 crisis in the United States","volume":"136","author":"Daly","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Psychiatr. Res."},{"key":"ref_19","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"824","DOI":"10.1017\/S003329172000241X","article-title":"Emotional distress in young adults during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence of risk and resilience from a longitudinal cohort study","volume":"52","author":"Shanahan","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychol. Med."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Werlen, L., Puhan, M.A., Landolt, M.A., and Mohler-Kuo, M. (2020). Mind the treatment gap: The prevalence of common mental disorder symptoms, risky substance use and service utilization among young Swiss adults. BMC Public Health, 20.","DOI":"10.1186\/s12889-020-09577-6"},{"key":"ref_21","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"345","DOI":"10.1016\/j.genhosppsych.2010.03.006","article-title":"The Patient Health Questionnaire Somatic, Anxiety, and Depressive Symptom Scales: A systematic review","volume":"32","author":"Kroenke","year":"2010","journal-title":"Gen. Hosp. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_22","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1092","DOI":"10.1001\/archinte.166.10.1092","article-title":"A brief measure for assessing generalized anxiety disorder: The GAD-7","volume":"166","author":"Spitzer","year":"2006","journal-title":"Arch. Intern. Med."},{"key":"ref_23","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"245","DOI":"10.1017\/S0033291704002892","article-title":"The World Health Organization Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS): A short screening scale for use in the general population","volume":"35","author":"Kessler","year":"2005","journal-title":"Psychol. Med."},{"key":"ref_24","unstructured":"(2020, February 12). Responses to Stress Questionnaire (RSQ). Available online: https:\/\/my.vanderbilt.edu\/stressandcoping\/rsq\/."},{"key":"ref_25","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3424","DOI":"10.1002\/sim.6947","article-title":"Simple generalized estimating equations (GEEs) and weighted generalized estimating equations (WGEEs) in longitudinal studies with dropouts: Guidelines and implementation in R","volume":"35","author":"Salazar","year":"2016","journal-title":"Stat. Med."},{"key":"ref_26","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.18637\/jss.v059.i05","article-title":"mediation: R Package for Causal Mediation Analysis","volume":"59","author":"Tingley","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Stat. Softw."},{"key":"ref_27","unstructured":"R Core Team (2021). R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing, R Foundation for Statistical Computing."},{"key":"ref_28","first-page":"1","article-title":"The R Package geepack for Generalized Estimating Equations","volume":"15","author":"Halekoh","year":"2005","journal-title":"J. Stat. Softw."},{"key":"ref_29","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"70","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2022.07.011","article-title":"The global evolution of mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal studies","volume":"315","author":"Farahi","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Affect. Disord."},{"key":"ref_30","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1560","DOI":"10.7326\/M22-1507","article-title":"The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Associated Control Measures on the Mental Health of the General Population: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-analysis","volume":"175","author":"Salanti","year":"2022","journal-title":"Ann. Intern. Med."},{"key":"ref_31","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"102203","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cpr.2022.102203","article-title":"Long term mental health trajectories after disasters and pandemics: A multilingual systematic review of prevalence, risk and protective factors","volume":"97","author":"Newnham","year":"2022","journal-title":"Clin. Psychol. Rev."},{"key":"ref_32","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"671","DOI":"10.1007\/s00787-021-01744-3","article-title":"Mostly worse, occasionally better: Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Canadian children and adolescents","volume":"31","author":"Cost","year":"2022","journal-title":"Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_33","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"959","DOI":"10.1177\/10870547211050945","article-title":"Systematic Review: Investigating the Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health Outcomes of Individuals with ADHD","volume":"26","author":"Behrmann","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Atten. Disord."},{"key":"ref_34","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"735","DOI":"10.1177\/10870547211027934","article-title":"Symptoms of ADHD Predict Lower Adaptation to the COVID-19 Outbreak: Financial Decline, Low Adherence to Preventive Measures, Psychological Distress, and Illness-Related Negative Perceptions","volume":"26","author":"Pollak","year":"2022","journal-title":"J. Atten. Disord."},{"key":"ref_35","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"110458","DOI":"10.1016\/j.econlet.2022.110458","article-title":"Have girls been left behind during the COVID-19 pandemic? Gender differences in pandemic effects on children\u2019s mental wellbeing","volume":"214","author":"Mendolia","year":"2022","journal-title":"Econ. Lett."},{"key":"ref_36","first-page":"1","article-title":"Perceived stress, coping strategies, and mental health status among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland: A longitudinal study","volume":"14","author":"Foster","year":"2022","journal-title":"Eur. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_37","first-page":"117","article-title":"The Effects of the Pandemic on Mental Health","volume":"Volume 296","author":"Baltagi","year":"2022","journal-title":"The Economics of COVID-19"},{"key":"ref_38","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"663","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(21)00156-5","article-title":"Depressive symptoms, mental wellbeing, and substance use among adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iceland: A longitudinal, population-based study","volume":"8","author":"Thorisdottir","year":"2021","journal-title":"Lancet Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_39","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"104114","DOI":"10.1016\/j.euroecorev.2022.104114","article-title":"The gender gap in mental well-being at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from the UK","volume":"145","author":"Etheridge","year":"2022","journal-title":"Eur. Econ. Rev."},{"key":"ref_40","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"365","DOI":"10.1111\/sjop.12813","article-title":"Stress appraisal as a mediator between the sense of coherence and the frequency of stress coping strategies in women and men during COVID-19 lockdown","volume":"63","year":"2022","journal-title":"Scand. J. Psychol."},{"key":"ref_41","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"261","DOI":"10.1017\/dem.2021.2","article-title":"Gender inequality in COVID-19 times: Evidence from UK prolific participants","volume":"87","author":"Oreffice","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Demogr. Econ."},{"key":"ref_42","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e12027","DOI":"10.1002\/jcv2.12027","article-title":"Adolescent well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Are girls struggling more than boys?","volume":"1","author":"Halldorsdottir","year":"2021","journal-title":"JCPP Adv."},{"key":"ref_43","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2142100","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2021.42100","article-title":"Association Between Homeschooling and Adolescent Sleep Duration and Health During COVID-19 Pandemic High School Closures","volume":"5","author":"Albrecht","year":"2022","journal-title":"JAMA Netw Open"},{"key":"ref_44","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"850","DOI":"10.1093\/eurpub\/ckv247","article-title":"Geographical variation in the prevalence of heavy drinking in young Swiss men","volume":"26","author":"Foster","year":"2016","journal-title":"Eur. J. Public Health"},{"key":"ref_45","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"86","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugpo.2019.01.014","article-title":"Light and heavy drinking in jurisdictions with different alcohol policy environments","volume":"65","author":"Foster","year":"2019","journal-title":"Int. J. Drug Policy"},{"key":"ref_46","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"109410","DOI":"10.1016\/j.drugalcdep.2022.109410","article-title":"Young Swiss men\u2019s risky single-occasion drinking: Identifying those who do not respond to stricter alcohol policy environments","volume":"234","author":"Foster","year":"2022","journal-title":"Drug Alcohol Depend."},{"key":"ref_47","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2131836","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2021.31836","article-title":"Screening in High Schools to Identify, Evaluate, and Lower Depression Among Adolescents: A Randomized Clinical Trial","volume":"4","author":"Sekhar","year":"2021","journal-title":"JAMA Netw Open"},{"key":"ref_48","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"42","DOI":"10.1186\/s12991-021-00362-2","article-title":"Depression and anxiety symptoms in young adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from a Canadian population-based cohort","volume":"20","author":"Orri","year":"2021","journal-title":"Ann. Gen. Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref_49","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"155","DOI":"10.1186\/s40337-021-00510-9","article-title":"Disordered eating and self-harm as risk factors for poorer mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A UK-based birth cohort study","volume":"9","author":"Warne","year":"2021","journal-title":"J. Eat. Disord."}],"container-title":["International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/20\/3\/2598\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,10]],"date-time":"2025-10-10T18:20:18Z","timestamp":1760120418000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1660-4601\/20\/3\/2598"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,31]]},"references-count":49,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2]]}},"alternative-id":["ijerph20032598"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/ijerph20032598","relation":{},"ISSN":["1660-4601"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1660-4601","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2023,1,31]]}}}