Importance 

Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, annexing the Crimean Peninsula and occupying parts of eastern Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion that is currently ongoing. Despite the chronic nature of the armed conflict, evidence of its cumulative impact on adolescent mental health since 2014 remains limited.

Objective 

To assess the prevalence of wartime traumatic stressors, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depressive symptoms, and suicidality and to examine the differential associations of war exposure with adolescent mental health.

Design, Setting, and Participants 

The Ukraine Adolescent Mental Health Study is a repeated cross-sectional study based on 2 school surveys conducted in 2016-2017 (n = 2766) and again in 2023-2024 (n = 2720). Adolescents aged 11 to 17 years (grades 6 to 9) living in Ukraine were recruited from 2 regions: Donetsk and Kirovograd. Data were analyzed from January 13, 2025, to May 28, 2025.

Exposure  

First phase (2014) and second phase (2022) of the Russian invasion.

Main Outcomes and Measures 

Adolescents self-reported wartime traumatic stressors, PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts using standardized tools. The association between demographic variables and wartime traumatic stressors, mental health symptoms, and suicidality were also evaluated.

Results 

A total of 5486 adolescent participants residing in Ukraine after 2 phases of the Russian invasion were included in the analyses, of whom 2907 (53.0%) were female; the mean (SD) age was 13.4 (1.7) years. Adolescents exposed to the second phase of the invasion experienced high levels of PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms, with particularly high rates among adolescents who were living in the war-affected region during the first phase of the invasion (PTSD symptoms: 180 of 1122 participants [16.0%]; odds ratio, 14.08 [95% CI, 8.36-23.72]; severe depressive symptoms: 118 of 1122 participants [10.5%]; odds ratio, 4.83 [95% CI, 3.28-7.11]) compared with adolescents who had no war exposure. War exposure was associated with suicidality in all study groups. A cumulative association was observed between wartime traumatic stressors and mental health outcomes.

Conclusions and Relevance 

The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that the Russian-Ukrainian war has had a psychological toll on Ukrainian adolescents, indicating long-term consequences for their mental health, resilience, and development. These findings indicate an urgent need to prioritize and scale up mental health interventions to address the needs of adolescents during the ongoing war.