Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, with its restrictive measures, on suicidal behaviour in hospitalized adolescents. The study includes 271 adolescents (age: 11-17 years) admitted to a Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry Hospital in Milan pre-Covid (February 2019-February 2020), during the pandemic (March 2020-March 2021), and post-Covid (April 2021-April 2022). The data were collected through consultation of the ward’s hospitalisation records. The study shows an increase in the average hospitalization time for patients discharged to residential facilities. Additionally, there was a significant increase in admissions for suicidal behaviour and a progressive decrease in admissions for psychomotor agitation and psychosis. The study confirms that the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the already growing trend of increasing suicidal behaviour in adolescence.