BackgroundAdolescents may not all have reacted similarly to the COVID-19 lockdown. This study aimed to identify subgroups of perceptions in adolescents from the PARIS cohort during the first French lockdown, and to investigate whether adolescent behaviors differed according to these subgroups.MethodsOnline questionnaires were sent to 1,549 PARIS adolescents aged 13–17 years who reported on possible infection with SARS-CoV-2, their perceptions, and behaviors during lockdown. Ascending hierarchical clustering was performed on the perception variables. Associations of behaviors with perception clusters were analyzed using multivariable multinomial logistic regression.ResultsThree perception clusters were identified among 791 adolescents (response rate 51%). One cluster “happy” (39%) had good mental health and did not feel stressed during lockdown. Another cluster “unhappy” (19%) was mainly unhappy, felt stressed, suffered from overcrowded living conditions, and experienced deteriorating relationships with family members. A further cluster “intermediate” (42%) experienced moderate well-being and stress, felt more supported by family, and worried about the health of their relatives. Compared with the “happy” cluster, the unhappy adolescents were more affected by COVID-19, had difficulty doing school activities, spent more time on social networks and less time on video games, slept less, and reported a deterioration in their diet. Adolescents “intermediate” with moderate well-being were more often girls, spent more time on social networks, were more physically active, slept less, and more often reported eating fruit and vegetables and drinking alcohol.ConclusionsNot all adolescents experienced lockdown in the same way. This study highlighted subgroups that differed in terms of well-being and health-related behaviors. These results should motivate public authorities to consider the benefit/risk ratio of implementing strict lockdowns by taking into account family disparities and inequities among adolescents.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13034-023-00609-8.