(PS5-53) The Relationship of Developmental Milestones and Anxiety in Post-pandemic Adolescents

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the mental health landscape, with a notable surge in psychiatric symptoms observed among adolescents both during (Gotlib et al., 2022; Racine et al., 2021; Samji et al., 2022) and at the start of the post-pandemic era (Thorisdottir et al., 2023). In addition to exacerbated mental health challenges and disruption in global functioning in youth, normative psychosocial development was also impacted (Garagiola et al., 2022). Appropriate psychosocial development from childhood through to emerging adulthood is paramount to achieving adult milestones, such as financial independence, long-term employment, and healthy interpersonal relationships (Arnett, 2000). Throughout development, youth progress through psychosocial milestones in cognitive, social, emotional, moral, and identity domains with guidance from caregivers and social institutions, such as schools (Skehan & Davis, 2017). Yet, psychosocial development can still be challenging even for typically developing youth (Hoffman, et al., 2018), as they are expected to engage in nuanced experiences (e.g., identity formation and interpersonal relationships; Skehan & Davis, 2017; Zimmer-Gembeck, 2002) and have greater autonomy (Lee & Gramotnev, 2007). Furthermore, research suggests that early financial and emotional support from adults, paired with the development of adaptive functioning skills (e.g., independent daily living skills) and individual emotional maturity contributes to higher self-esteem and an overall positive adult trajectory (Ryan & Lynch, 1989; Vignoles et al., 2016; Wood et al., 2017). Despite monitoring milestones in infancy and early childhood, there is little focus on assessing psychosocial development in adolescence and its relationship to mental health disorders. The assessment of psychosocial developmental milestones can provide valuable insights to CBT therapists and caregivers on the expected trajectory for youth development, and alert them when intervention is needed.

The present study aims to investigate the relationships between parental reports of developmental milestones and mental health diagnoses among adolescents, including those with diagnosed conditions and those without, utilizing the National Survey of Children's Health (NSCH) 2022 dataset. The NSCH is a national, representative survey of 54,103 parents and caregivers conducted annually since 2016, in partnership with the Census Bureau, to assess the health of children and adolescents in the USA. Regression analyses are being employed to explore these relationships. We hypothesized that deficiencies reported in adolescent’s developmental milestones by parents are positively associated with parental reports of anxiety diagnoses among adolescents, and will explore the unique associations therein.