It is unclear how much adolescents’ lives were disrupted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic or what risk factors predicted such disruption. To answer these questions, 1,080 adolescents in 9 nations were surveyed 5 times from March 2020 to July 2022. Rates of adolescent COVID-19 life disruption were stable and high. Adolescents who, compared to their peers, lived in nations with higher national COVID-19 death rates, lived in nations with less stringent COVID-19 mitigation strategies, had less confidence in their government’s response to COVID-19, complied at higher rates with COVID-19 control measures, experienced the death of someone they knew due to COVID-19, or experienced more internalizing, externalizing, and smoking problems reported more life disruption due to COVID-19 during part or all of the pandemic. Additionally, when, compared to their typical levels of functioning, adolescents experienced spikes in national death rates, experienced less stringent COVID-19 mitigation measures, experienced less confidence in government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, complied at higher rates with COVID-19 control measures, experienced more internalizing problems, or smoked more at various periods during the pandemic, they also experienced more COVID-19 life disruption. Collectively, these findings provide new insights that policymakers can use to prevent the disruption of adolescents’ lives in future pandemics.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, adolescents (N = 1,330; Mages = 15 and 16; 50% female), mothers, and fathers from nine countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, United States) reported on adolescents’ internalizing and externalizing problems, adolescents completed a lab-based task to assess tendency for risk-taking, and adolescents reported on their well-being. During the pandemic, participants (Mage = 20) reported on changes in their internalizing, externalizing, and substance use compared to before the pandemic. Across countries, adolescents’ internalizing problems pre-pandemic predicted increased internalizing during the pandemic, and poorer well-being pre-pandemic predicted increased externalizing and substance use during the pandemic. Other relations varied across countries, and some were moderated by confidence in the government’s handling of the pandemic, gender, and parents’ education.

The single most important food source for Pteropus rufus at Berenty, in south-east Madagascar, is the pollen of Agave sisalana, a commercial species introduced to the area 60 y ago, which was widely available and constantly eaten by the bats during this 28-mo study. The diet of the bats at this site is unique in this respect when compared with P. rufus elsewhere in Madagascar and with other Pteropus species. The dietary breadth of P. rufus at Berenty is narrow, consisting of only 14 plant species, identified through microsopic faecal analysis and direct field observations, and three unidentified ones. The bats also eat locally cultivated and introduced fruits (Mangifera indica, Psidium cf. cattleianum, Sclerocarya caffra, Cordia sinensis and Hylocereus species) and native and endemic forest species (Tamarindus indica, Celtis philippensis, Ficus megapoda, F. grevei, F. pachyclada and Grewia species). The majority of the plant species used by P. rufus for food are located within the gallery forests of the Mandrare valley. No evidence of adjacent endemic spiny forest species was identified in their diet. Thus, conservation of the remaining gallery forest as well as retention of the sisal plantations is important to maintain the food sources of P. rufus at this site.