Students have been multiply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic: threats to their own and their family’s health, the closure of schools, and pivoting to online learning in March 2020, a long summer of physical distancing, and then the challenge of returning to school in fall 2020. As damaging as the physical health effects of a global pandemic are, much has been speculated about the “second wave” of mental health crises, particularly for school-aged children and adolescents. Yet, few studies have asked students about their experiences during the pandemic. The present study engaged with over two thousand (N = 2,310; 1,288 female; M_age = 14.5) 12- to 18-year-old Alberta students during their first few weeks of return-to-school in fall 2020. Students completed an online survey that asked about their perceptions of COVID-19, their fall return-to-school experiences (84.9% returned in-person), their self-reported pandemic-related stress, and their behavior, affect, and cognitive functioning in the first few weeks of September. The majority of students (84.9%) returned to school in person. Students reported moderate and equal concern for their health, family confinement, and maintaining social contact. Student stress levels were also above critical thresholds for 25% of the sample, and females and older adolescents (age 15–18 years) generally reported higher stress indicators as compared to males and younger (age 12–14 years) adolescents. Multivariate analysis showed that stress indicators were positively and significantly correlated with self-reported behavioral concerns (i.e., conduct problems, negative affect, and cognitive/inattention), and that stress arousal (e.g., sleep problems, hypervigilance) accounted for significant variance in behavioral concerns. Results are discussed in the context of how schools can provide both universal responses to students during COVID-19 knowing that most students are coping well, while some may require more targeted strategies to address stress arousal and heightened negative affect.

学生受到了 COVID-19 大流行的多重影响：自己和家人的健康受到威胁、学校停课、2020 年 3 月转向在线学习、漫长的夏季保持社交距离，以及重返校园的挑战2020 年秋季。尽管全球流行病对身体健康造成了破坏性影响，但人们对“第二波”心理健康危机的猜测很多，尤其是对学龄儿童和青少年而言。然而，很少有研究询问学生在大流行期间的经历。本研究涉及 2000 多名（ N = 2,310；1,288 名女性； M_年龄= 14.5）12 至 18 岁的艾伯塔省学生，他们是在 2020 年秋季重返校园的最初几周内完成的。调查询问了他们对 COVID-19 的看法、他们秋季返校经历（84.9% 亲自返校）、他们自我报告的流行病相关压力，以及他们在最初几年的行为、情感和认知功能九月的几周。大部分学生（84.9%）亲自返回学校。学生们对自己的健康、家庭限制和保持社会联系表示中等和同等的关注。 25% 的样本学生的压力水平也高于临界阈值，并且与男性和年龄较小（12-14 岁）的青少年相比，女性和年龄较大的青少年（15-18 岁）普遍报告了更高的压力指标。多变量分析表明，压力指标与自我报告的行为问题（即行为问题、负面情绪和认知/注意力不集中）呈正相关且显着相关，并且压力唤醒（例如、睡眠问题、过度警觉）导致了行为问题的显着差异。讨论结果的背景是学校如何在 COVID-19 期间为学生提供普遍的应对措施，因为知道大多数学生都应对得很好，而有些学生可能需要更有针对性的策略来解决压力唤醒和加剧的负面影响。