Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37934336›Full record

ArticleChild psychiatry and human development2025

The Distinction Between Social Connectedness and Support When Examining Depressive Symptoms Among Children and Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Caroline Park, Kimberley C Tsujimoto, Katherine Tombeau Cost, Evdokia Anagnostou, Catherine S Birken, Alice Charach, Suneeta Monga, Elizabeth Kelley, Rob Nicolson, Stelios Georgiadis and 3 more

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Article in Child psychiatry and human development, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.6field-weighted citation impact, top 17% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Caroline Park *Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Kimberley C Tsujimoto *Department of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Katherine Tombeau CostDepartment of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Evdokia AnagnostouDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Catherine S BirkenDepartment of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Alice CharachDepartment of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Suneeta MongaDepartment of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Elizabeth KelleyDepartments of Psychology and Psychiatry, Queens University, Kingston, ON, Canada.
Rob NicolsonDepartment of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Western, London, ON, Canada.
Stelios GeorgiadisDepartment of Health Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Christie BurtonDepartment of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Jennifer CrosbieDepartment of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Daphne J KorczakDepartment of Psychiatry, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada. daphne.korczak@sickkids.ca.
Hospital for Sick Children · CAUniversity of Toronto · CAMcMaster University · CAQueen's University · CAWestern University · CA

Funding

Canadian Institutes for Health Research 173092CIHR PJT-159462Ontario Ministry of Health 700
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Childhood depression is associated with significant social and functional impairment, suicide risk, and persistence throughout adulthood. Recent evidence demonstrates that social connectedness and social support may serve as protective factors against the development of depression. The current study aimed to examine the effect of change in social connectedness and social support on depressive symptoms among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hierarchical regression was performed. Results indicated that parent-reported measures of change in social connectedness were inversely associated with depressive symptom severity, and could significantly predict future depressive symptom severity. In contrast, parent-reported measures of social support (i.e., from family and friends) did not significantly predict future depressive symptom severity. The presence of a pre-COVID psychiatric and/or neurodevelopmental diagnosis and baseline depressive symptom severity were also important factors associated with future depressive symptom severity. The findings suggest that an awareness of the presence of social supports (i.e., family or friends) is not sufficient for children to feel connected, but rather the mechanisms of social relationships are crucial. As our approach to public health restrictions evolves, the risk transmission of COVID-19 should be carefully balanced with the risks associated with decreased connectedness among youth.

Indexed as

COVID-19DepressionSocial SupportAdolescentChildFemaleHumansMaleSeverity of Illness IndexCOVID-19DepressionSocial connectednessSocial supportYouth

Identifiers

PMID37934336
OpenAlexW4388453998

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.