Adolescents During the Pandemic: Supportive and In-Person Rather Than Digital Social Connections Are Associated With Lower Sadness.

Social connections support emotional well-being and act as buffer against depression during challenging life episodes. During the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescent's social connectedness was disrupted. Here, we examined the association between social connectedness and sadness in a large US sample of adolescents during the pandemic. As part of the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study, adolescents completed two online surveys around May (n = 5,298, mage: 12.5 years, 49.7% female) and August 2020 (n = 5,051, mage: 12.7, 49.0% female), including the National Institute of Health Toolbox Sad