Objective  To examine the prevalence and influence factors of depressive emotion and among adolescents during the period of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to provide a reference for psychological intervention in adolescents in major public health emergencies.

  Methods  A self-administered voluntary online survey was conducted among 208 433 adolescents via Sojump platform during March 2020. A self-designed demographic questionnaire and the Brief Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) were adopted in the study.

  Results  Of the 170 830 valid respondents from 43 municipalities/provinces/autonomous regions (39.5% males and 60.5% females aged 16 – 22 years), 30.7% (53 372) were assessed as experiencing depression symptoms in the epidemic period. The results of multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the respondents with following characteristics are more likely to experience depression symptoms: being female (odds ratio OR = 1.07), living in urban region (OR = 1.12), having poor relationship with family members (OR = 2.81), ever experiencing a trauma (OR = 2.38), with less social support (OR = 2.35), spending a school vocation in the regions with generally serious epidemic (OR = 1.13) or severe epidemic (OR = 1.35), being a minor case/close contact/suspected case/fever clinic attendee (OR = 1.62), and being a secondary close contact; while, the respondents with extroverted or intermediate personality characteristics (OR = 0.75 or OR = 0.78) are less likely to experience depression symptoms in contrast to those with introverted personality characteristics.

  Conclusion  The adolescents being female, living in urban region, having poor relationships with family members, ever experiencing a trauma, with less social support, with introverted personality, and spending a school vocation in regions with generally serious or severe epidemic are at a increased risk of experiencing depression symptoms during a major public health emergency and the results should be concerned when conducting relevant psychological interventions.