There is a global concern about the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of children and adolescents. Some studies suggest that psychiatric symptoms of children and adolescents have indeed increased during the pandemic. Disease containment measures, such as lockdowns, school closures, remote school, cessation of hobbies, quarantines and social isolation have changed people’s lives dramatically, exposing children and adolescents to several stressors, including fear of contracting the disease, frustration, boredom, information overload, family financial loss and changes in daily activity patterns. Parallel with the COVID-19 pandemic, other global crises threaten the mental health of children and adolescents globally. There is evidence that climate change -related psychological distress with affective, cognitive and behavioural dimensions exists and children and adolescents are particularly prone to it. Repeated cross-sectional studies employing the same instruments, protocol and study sites in different time-points can help to understand the factors and reasons behind the changes. We studied adolescent wellbeing in 2000 children in 2015, and will repeat the same to study the changes over time. We will study 2000 adolescents in Udupi district (sample similar to our previous study).

13-16 years old children and adolescents living in Udupi District will be invited to participate in this survey. Those attending special schools for students with intellectual disabilities will be excluded. A student and a teacher survey will be conducted. The student survey will be in bilingual form.

Written permission will be obtained from block education officer. We will collect data from the same schools which we had included in our previous 2016 study. The school authorities will be approached and asked to participate, and the teachers will receive a detailed information letter explaining the aims and the rationale behind the study. All respondents will be given a letter of consent, which needs to be returned to the researchers. The students will be asked to complete the questionnaires during class. They will not be asked to provide their name or address. The students will be informed that they give their consent to participate in the research by filling in the questionnaire and that they can decline their participation by leaving the questionnaire blank. Before responding to the questionnaire, the students will be given detailed explanations on how to proceed.

Department scientific committee and approval from IEC will be obtained. Permission from BEO and school principal will be taken. Participation in the study planned is completely voluntary for the students. Parents, students, and teachers will be informed about the study prior to conducting the survey. The survey will be conducted during school hours and students will not be asked to provide their names or addresses in the questionnaires. The data will only be used for this scientific research. Data gathering, storing, and processing will be conducted confidentially. There will not be any compensation for participating in this study.