Longitudinal Trends in Depression Among Rural Chinese Adolescents Before and During COVID-19

While mental health trends among Chinese adolescents have been widely studied, the rural population remains understudied despite its distinctive socioeconomic context, especially regarding long-term trends before, during, and after COVID-19. This study investigates decade-long (2012–2022) depression trends among Chinese rural adolescents, focusing on pandemic-related changes and variations by gender and age. Data for this analysis were drawn from the longitudinal surveys of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) (N = 9,695; age 10–15). Kruskal–Wallis tests were applied to determine change patterns in rural adolescents’ depression over time. Multiple regression models were computed to assess gender and age differences in pre-pandemic and pandemic-era depression changes. The findings reveal that (a) No statistically significant changes in depression were observed before the COVID-19 pandemic from 2012 to 2018; (b) a statistically significant increase in depression occurred from 2018 to 2020; (c) subsequently, a significant decline was noted from 2020 to 2022; and (d) no statistically significant differences were found between two gender and different age groups regarding their change in depression before and during the COVID-19. The study reveals pandemic-specific fluctuations in rural adolescent depression that affected all subgroups uniformly, highlighting the universal impact of COVID-19 disruptions in rural contexts.