Two mixed-methods studies identified 51 adolescent-specific strategies for managing mental health challenges (hyperactivity/inattention, conduct problems, and emotional problems), finding that the most frequently used strategies were generally perceived as helpful, with results replicated in an independent post-pandemic sample.
Key Findings
Results
Inductive analysis of adolescent-reported strategies uncovered 51 distinct strategies for managing mental health challenges during the pandemic.
Study 1 involved a community sample of 218 adolescents aged 16 to 19 during the pandemic.
Strategies were elicited through an innovative online tool where adolescents could share how they manage specific mental health challenges.
Mental health challenges covered included symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention, conduct problems, and emotional problems.
Some strategies mirrored established emotion regulation or coping strategies, while others were described as novel.
Results
Strategies varied across different symptom types, and the most frequently used strategies were considered helpful by adolescents.
Quantitative analyses indicated that the most frequently used strategies were perceived as helpful.
Strategies differed depending on whether the symptom was hyperactivity/inattention, conduct problems, or emotional problems.
The online tool allowed adolescents to rate perceived helpfulness of their own strategies.
Results
A second independent post-pandemic study largely replicated the findings from the first study.
Study 2 was conducted after the pandemic in an independent community sample of 118 adolescents aged 16 to 20.
Strategies used and rated as helpful during the pandemic were also used and rated as helpful after it.
Replication across two different temporal contexts (during and after the pandemic) supports the robustness of the findings.
Results
Perceived helpfulness of a strategy was not related to whether the strategy's specific goal was problem solving, cognitive avoidance, or experiential avoidance.
The second study specifically investigated whether perceived helpfulness was related to the goal of a strategy.
The three goal categories examined were problem solving, cognitive avoidance, and experiential avoidance.
The analysis found this distinction 'proved not to be the case,' meaning goal type did not predict perceived helpfulness.
Conclusions
The studies identified a wide array of adolescent-specific and symptom-specific strategies that adolescents find helpful for managing mental health challenges.
The findings are described as offering insights for designing prevention programs that may protect against more severe difficulties.
The strategies are noted to 'resonate with adolescents' unique lives and needs.'
The innovative online tool used was designed specifically to allow adolescents to self-report their own management strategies.
What This Means
This research suggests that teenagers have a rich and varied set of strategies they use to cope with mental health challenges like difficulty concentrating, behavioral problems, and emotional difficulties. Using a specially designed online tool, researchers asked adolescents to describe what they do to manage these specific challenges and how helpful those strategies feel. Across two separate studies — one conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic with 218 teens, and one conducted after the pandemic with 118 teens — researchers identified 51 different strategies. Some of these matched well-known coping techniques, but others were unique to teenagers' experiences. Importantly, the strategies teens used most often were also the ones they found most helpful.
A key finding from the second study was that whether a strategy was aimed at solving a problem directly, avoiding thinking about it (cognitive avoidance), or avoiding experiencing it emotionally (experiential avoidance) did not predict how helpful teens found it. This challenges the assumption that avoidance-based strategies are necessarily less helpful than problem-focused ones, at least from the adolescent's own perspective. The fact that results were consistent across both studies — conducted in different time periods — suggests these findings are reliable and not just a product of the unique stressors of the pandemic.
This research matters because mental health programs for teenagers are often designed by adults using frameworks developed primarily in adult or clinical populations. By directly asking teens what works for them, these studies provide a foundation for creating prevention and support programs that are more tailored to how adolescents actually think and live. This approach may help programs feel more relevant to teens and potentially be more effective at preventing mild difficulties from becoming more serious mental health problems.
Huizenga H, Ammerlaan F, Zandstra I, Mobach L, Larsen H. (2026). Adolescents' Strategies to Manage Mental Health Challenges In and After the Pandemic: Two Mixed-Methods Studies.. Research on child and adolescent psychopathology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-026-01471-w