Report1: Impact of Covid-19 on young people aged 13-24 in the UK- preliminary findings

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liat Levita ◽  
Jilly Gibson Miller ◽  
Todd K. Hartman ◽  
Jamie Murphy ◽  
Mark Shevlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Health Anxiety ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Social Risk ◽  
Need For Support ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Social Recovery ◽  
The Impact

COVID-19 has led to an unprecedented disruption of normal social relationships and activities, which are so important during the teen years and young adulthood, and to education and economic activity worldwide. The impact of this on young people’s mental health and future prospects may affect their need for support and services, and the speed of the nation’s social recovery afterwards. This study focused on the unique challenges facing young people at different points during adolescent development, which spans from the onset of puberty until the mid-twenties. Although this is an immensely challenging time and there is a potential risk for long term trauma, adolescence can be a period of opportunity, where the teenagers’ brain enjoys greater capacity for change. Hence, the focus on young people is key for designing age-specific interventions and public policies, which can offer new strategies for instilling resilience, emotional regulation, and self-control. In fact, adolescents might be assisted to not only cope, but excel, in spite of the challenges imposed by this pandemic. Our work will feed into the larger societal response that utilizes the discoveries about adolescence in the way we raise, teach, and treat young people during this time of crisis. Wave 1 data has already been collected from 2,002 young people aged 13-24, measuring their mental health (anxiety, depression, trauma), family functioning, social networks, and resilience, and social risk-taking at the time of the pandemic. Here we present a preliminary report of our findings, (Report 1). Data collected 21/4/20- 29/4/20 - a month after the lockdown started).

scholarly journals “You’re just there, alone in your room with your thoughts” A qualitative study about the impact of lockdown among young people during the COVID-19 pandemic

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison R. McKinlay ◽  
Tom May ◽  
Joanna Dawes ◽  
Daisy Fancourt ◽  
Alexandra Burton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Adolescents And Young Adults ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

AbstractBackgroundAdolescents and young adults have been greatly affected by quarantine measures during the coronavirus-19 pandemic. Quantitative evidence suggests that many young people have struggled with their mental health throughout “lockdown”, but little is understood about the qualitative impact of social distancing restrictions on mental health, wellbeing and social life. We therefore sought to elicit the views and experiences of adolescents and young adults living in the UK during the pandemic.MethodsSemi-structured qualitative interviews were undertaken with 37 participants aged 13-24.ResultsWe identified 4 superordinate themes most commonly described by participants about their experiences during the pandemic, including: a) missing social contact during lockdown, b) disruption to education, c) changes to social relationships, and d) improved wellbeing during lockdown. Although we identified some positive experiences during the pandemic, including an increased awareness of mental health and stronger relationship ties, many said they struggled with loneliness, a decline in mental health, and anxiety about socialising after the pandemic.ConclusionsFindings suggest that some young people may have felt less stigma talking about their mental health now compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many are worried about how the pandemic has affected their education and social connections and may require additional psychological, practical and social support. Our findings highlight the important role that education providers play in providing a source of information and support to adolescents and young adults during times of uncertainty.

Report2: Impact of Covid-19 on young people aged 13-24 in the UK- preliminary findings

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liat Levita ◽  
Jilly Gibson Miller ◽  
Todd K. Hartman ◽  
Jamie Murphy ◽  
Mark Shevlin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Additional Data ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Anxiety And Depression ◽  
Adult Study ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

A brief follow on report (from Report 1, see https://psyarxiv.com/uq4rn/). This report presents data on parents and their children's well being as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic from our adult survey study. In addition to presenting additional data showing a potentially significant increase in anxiety and depression in young people aged 13-24, as a consequence of COVID-19. Data collection for our Adult Study (Wave 2) took place between 22nd April and was ended on Friday, May 1st, here we report headline figures for the impact of Covid-19 on parents and their children. We have described our methods in a separate report (https://psyarxiv.com/wxe2n) and released two reports on our mental health outcomes from wave 1 (https://psyarxiv.com/hb6nq, https://psyarxiv.com/ydvc7).

scholarly journals Pandemic and student mental health: A cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis of mental health symptoms amongst university students and young adults after the first cycle of lockdown in the UK

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Tang ◽  
Katharine McEnery ◽  
Laura Chandler ◽  
Carla Toro ◽  
Lukasz Walasek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Young People ◽  
University Students ◽  
Substance Misuse ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Anxiety Depression ◽  
The Impact

BackgroundEarly COVID-19 research suggests a detrimental impact of the initial lockdown on youngpeople’s mental health, but it is unclear whether the impact would persist.AimsWe investigated mental health symptoms amongst university students after the firstlockdown in the UK and changes in symptoms over 6 months. We examined risk factors forthese symptoms and whether they were shared by young people not in higher education.Method895 university students and 547 young people not in higher education completed an onlinesurvey at T1 (July-September 2020). A subset of 203 university students also completeda 6-month follow-up survey at T2 (January-March 2021). Mental health symptomsmeasured were anxiety, depression, insomnia, substance misuse, and suicide risk.ResultsAt T1, nearly 40% of the participants reported moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety anddepression and risk of substance misuse; a quarter reported insomnia and clinicallysignificant suicidal risk. A reduction in anxiety, depression and insomnia was observed inparticipants reassessed at T2, but not in substance misuse and suicidality.Cross-sectionally, greater symptoms across measures were consistently associated withgender (female or other), sleep irregularity, and a worse-off financial status. Longitudinally,the most consistent risk factors for T2 symptoms were having previously diagnosed mentalhealth problems and having difficulty sleeping since the first lockdown.ConclusionsMental health symptoms were prevalent in a large proportion of young people after the firstlockdown. Risk factors identified may help characterise high-risk groups for enhancedsupport and inform interventions in both university and non-university settings.

Re-uniting families in the chaos of the refugee crisis: medico-legal assessment of unaccompanied refugee minors in the Calais Jungle (mental health and legal perspectives)

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 187-194
Author(s):  
Jacob Ellis ◽  
Susannah Fairweather ◽  
Mark Scott ◽  
Laura Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Refugee Crisis ◽  
Unaccompanied Refugee Minors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Legal Assessment ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Refugee Minors

Purpose In total, 90,000 of the 1.26 million people applying for asylum in the EU in 2015 were unaccompanied children. The Dublin III Regulations provided a unique legal situation where unaccompanied young people in the Calais Jungle potentially had the right to be reunited with family in the UK. The purpose of this paper is to explore the substantial challenges presented by carrying out medico-legal assessment of this group in the Calais Jungle. Design/methodology/approach The authors consider the refugee crisis from a mental health and legal perspective. The authors provide two case examples to contextualise and describe the work. The authors draw from the observations and the literature to discuss the impact of living in the Calais Jungle on young people, the challenges the authors overcame to carry out the assessments and the needs of refugees following settling in the UK. Findings The authors conclude that the Calais Jungle was a toxic environment not suitable for young refugees’ continued emotional development or recovery from trauma. The current legal process to relocate a young person to the UK is time consuming and labour intensive. The authors note that these concerns are not unique to the Jungle, nor have they ended with its demolition. The difficulties young refugees face with mental illness continues following their arrival to the UK. Originality/value This was the first successful attempt since the Dublin III Regulations to seek a legal route to bring unaccompanied refugee minors from France to the UK. This paper was co-written by both the legal and mental health professionals involved in the cases providing a broad opinion across both disciplines.

scholarly journals The Impact of COVID-19 on Young People’s Mental Health in the UK: Key Insights from Social Media Using Online Ethnography

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 352
Author(s):  
Rachel Winter ◽  
Anna Lavis
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Young People ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Social Worlds ◽  
School Closures ◽  
Online Ethnography ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

There is increasing evidence of the psychological impact of COVID-19 on various population groups, with concern particularly focused on young people’s mental health. However, few papers have engaged with the views of young people themselves. We present findings from a study into young people’s discussions on social media about the impact of COVID-19 on their mental health. Real-time, multi-platform online ethnography was used to collect social media posts by young people in the United Kingdom (UK), March 2020–March 2021, 1033 original posts and 13,860 associated comments were analysed thematically. Mental health difficulties that were described as arising from, or exacerbated by, school closures, lost opportunities or fraught family environments included depression, anxiety and suicidality. Yet, some also described improvements to their mental health, away from prior stressors, such as school. Young people also recounted anxiety at the ramifications of the virus on others. The complexities of the psychological impact of COVID-19 on young people, and how this impact is situated in their pre-existing social worlds, need recognising. Forging appropriate support necessitates looking beyond an individualised conceptualisation of young people’s mental health that sets this apart from broader societal concerns. Instead, both research and practice need to take a systemic approach, recognising young people’s societal belonging and social contexts.

scholarly journals The impact of COVID-19 on the lives and mental health of Australian adolescents

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Li ◽  
Joanne Beames ◽  
Jill Newby ◽  
Kate Maston ◽  
Helen Christensen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Young People ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Technology Use ◽  
Health Anxiety ◽  
Exact Nature ◽  
Distress Scale ◽  
The Impact

Objective: There has been significant disruption to the lives and mental health of adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the exact nature of the effects is not known. The purpose of this study was to assess the psychological and lifestyle impact of the pandemic on Australian adolescents, using an online survey, administered during and after the peak of the outbreak (June-July 2020). Method: Self-report surveys were administered online to a sample of 760 Australian adolescents aged 12-18 years old. Surveys assessed worry about contracting COVID-19, behavioral change in response to the pandemic, impact on education, peer and family relationships, lifestyle factors including exercise, technology use and sleep, as well as mental health outcomes including psychological distress, loneliness, health anxiety and wellbeing. Results: Overall, young people expressed significant concern and worry about contracting the virus, and most (>85%) engaged in behaviors to reduce the risk of transmission. Three quarters of the sample reported a worsening of their mental health since the pandemic began, with negative impacts reported by most respondents on learning, friendships and family relationships. More than 40% of young people reported a decrease in exercise and 70% reported an increase in technology use since the outbreak. There were high levels of uncertainty about the future reported by respondents, and their scores on validated measures indicated higher levels of sleep disturbance, psychological distress and health anxiety, and lower levels of wellbeing, relative to normative samples. Reponses on the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale indicated that 48.3% of the sample were experiencing distress consistent with a probable mental illness, which is much higher than pre-pandemic prevalence rates. Effects on mental health were worse among those who reported a previous diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety relative to those without a history of depression and/or anxiety. Conclusion: These results indicate high levels of disruption and psychological distress experienced by adolescents during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Adolescents are already vulnerable to the onset of mental illness at this developmental stage, and the current research underscores the need to find rapid and accessible ways to support adolescent mental health during times of crisis. There is a need for longitudinal research to evaluate the enduring effects of the pandemic on adolescents.

scholarly journals Supporting mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: implementation of an e-guide

BJPsych Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S192-S192
Author(s):  
Athanasios Hassoulas ◽  
Eliana Panayiotou ◽  
Srinjay Mukhopadhyay ◽  
Ravanth Baskaran ◽  
Nan Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
General Public ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The Public ◽  
On Line ◽  
Marketing Team ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

AimsThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant disruption to activities of daily living, which in turn has had a profound impact on the mental wellbeing of the public. An e-guide was designed to provide remote support to the general public through the application of a Behavioural Activation approach. Interactive, brief evidence-based exercises were included in the e-guide, along with mood ratings after each exercise to assess any improvements observed.MethodThe e-guide was designed using the Xerte On- Line Toolkits open source software. Videos and interactive exercises were embedded within the resource, forming part of the brief intervention based on cognitivist and behaviourist principles. Information and further support was also provided for young people and parents. Videos from the public highlighting their experiences during the pandemic were also sourced and included (with consent). A pilot was launched to assess the impact of the e-guide. Participants were recruited from Cardiff University, mental health services and a local charity.ResultThe e-guide was piloted on a sample of volunteers (n = 3), who completed a brief survey after engaging with the resource. Following the results of the pilot, the e-guide was promoted by the university's marketing team and made available to the public. At the 6-month mark, the e-guide had been accessed by 3228 individuals throughout the UK.ConclusionThe e-guide has since been disseminated by support services for young people, places of employment and eduction institutions. The national impact of the e-guide is evidenced from the number of people accessing the resource exceeding 3000. With the long-term effects of the pandemic taking hold, it remains crucial to support the wellbeing of the general public through such initiatives that are administered remotely

scholarly journals Designing youth mental health services for the 21st century: examples from Australia, Ireland and the UK

2013 ◽  
Vol 202 (s54) ◽  
pp. s30-s35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick McGorry ◽  
Tony Bates ◽  
Max Birchwood
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Young People ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Mental Healthcare ◽  
Population Group ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

SummaryDespite the evidence showing that young people aged 12-25 years have the highest incidence and prevalence of mental illness across the lifespan, and bear a disproportionate share of the burden of disease associated with mental disorder, their access to mental health services is the poorest of all age groups. A major factor contributing to this poor access is the current design of our mental healthcare system, which is manifestly inadequate for the unique developmental and cultural needs of our young people, if we are to reduce the impact of mental disorder on this most vulnerable population group, transformational change and service redesign is necessary. Here, we present three recent and rapidly evolving service structures from Australia, Ireland and the UK that have each worked within their respective healthcare contexts to reorient existing services to provide youth-specific, evidence-based mental healthcare that is both accessible and acceptable to young people.

Beating the Odds: Exploring the Impact of Social Risk on Young People's School-to-Work Transitions during Recession in the UK

2012 ◽  
Vol 222 ◽  
pp. R38-R51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathryn Duckworth ◽  
Ingrid Schoon
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
School Environment ◽  
School Engagement ◽  
Educational Aspirations ◽  
Cumulative Risk ◽  
School To Work ◽  
Social Risk ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Impact

Drawing on nationally representative data collected for two age cohorts in the UK, this paper a) assesses the effect of multiple independent socioeconomic risk factors in shaping the transition from school to work; and b) identifies potential protective factors enabling young people to beat the odds. By comparing experiences and findings across two cohorts we assess the generalisability of findings across contexts, i.e. the 2008 and 1980s recessions. The results show that some young people exposed to even severe socioeconomic risks avoid being NEET (not in education, employment or training). Factors that appear to reduce the cumulative risk effect in both cohorts include prior attainment, educational aspirations and school engagement, as well as the social mix of the school environment.

scholarly journals Loneliness, coping, suicidal thoughts and self-harm during the COVID-19 pandemic: a repeat cross-sectional UK population survey

BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. e048123
Author(s):  
Ann John ◽  
Sze Chim Lee ◽  
Susan Solomon ◽  
David Crepaz-Keay ◽  
Shari McDaid ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Young People ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Suicidal Thoughts ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Mental Health Conditions ◽  
Self Harm ◽  
The Uk ◽  
And Coping ◽  
The Impact

ObjectivesThere has been speculation on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdown on suicidal thoughts and self-harm and the factors associated with any change. We aimed to assess the effects and change in effects of risk factors including loneliness and coping, as well as pre-existing mental health conditions on suicidal thoughts and self-harm during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignThis study was a repeated cross-sectional online population-based survey.Participants and measuresNon-probability quota sampling was adopted on the UK adult population and four waves of data were analysed during the pandemic (17 March 2020 to 29 May 2020). Outcomes were suicidal thoughts and self-harm associated with the pandemic while loneliness, coping, pre-existing mental health conditions, employment status and demographics were covariates. We ran binomial regressions to evaluate the adjusted risks of the studied covariates as well as the changes in effects over time.ResultsThe proportion of individuals who felt lonely increased sharply from 9.8% to 23.9% after the UK lockdown began. Young people (aged 18–24 years), females, students, those who were unemployed and individuals with pre-existing mental health conditions were more likely to report feeling lonely and not coping well. 7.7%–10.0% and 1.9%–2.2% of respondents reported having suicidal thoughts and self-harm associated with the pandemic respectively throughout the period studied. Results from cross-tabulation and adjusted regression analyses showed young adults, coping poorly and with pre-existing mental health conditions were significantly associated with suicidal thoughts and self-harm. Loneliness was significantly associated with suicidal thoughts but not self-harm.ConclusionsThe association between suicidality, loneliness and coping was evident in young people during the early stages of the pandemic. Developing effective interventions designed and coproduced to address loneliness and promote coping strategies during prolonged social isolation may promote mental health and help mitigate suicidal thoughts and self-harm associated with the pandemic.

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