2023-05-31 07:03:46
Let mental health weigh as much as physical health. That is one of the lessons from a collection of forty studies into the effect of the corona crisis and the corona measures on the mental well-being of children and young people.
In the overview report ‘Mental well-being of youth: lessons from the corona crisis’, the Netherlands Youth Institute bundles forty studies from the period March 2020 to April 2022, conducted by more than twenty research institutions. The results were then discussed with researchers and young people. Their most important conclusion: young people want more attention to their mental well-being.
Quality of life
The quality of life decreased during the corona crisis. Emotional problems such as anxiety and loneliness worsened. There didn’t seem to be any more behavioral problems, such as defiance or aggressiveness. Children and young people who felt connected to their friends during the pandemic felt better.
Social environment of young people and children
The prevailing image is that the atmosphere in families has deteriorated. Children and young people missed their friends. The closure of the school resulted in a decrease in school motivation and the connection with classmates or fellow students. Young people (12 to 17 years old) and young adults (18 to 27 years old) initially had few concerns about the future; in the second lockdown, their concerns increased.
Lessons for the future
The researchers and young people draw four lessons from the bundling of research.
- Let mental health weigh as much as physical health. Young people say that they were much more affected by the measures than by the virus itself.
- Choose a tailor-made approach. There are big differences between age groups, and also in what young people need. For example, some young people thrived on homeschooling, while others did not. Young adults in particular suffered from the lack of contact.
- Keeping up with each other is very important. For example, maintain opportunities to exercise together.
- Let children and young people think along. Corona measures were mainly devised from the point of view of adults, without consultation with young people. The approach did not suit young people and as a result they eventually felt less inclined to comply with the measures.
Permanent attention to mental well-being
During corona, mental problems of children and young people increased. A large part has now bounced back, but not everyone. There is a group of vulnerable children and young people with serious and persistent problems. These are mainly children and young people with psychological problems or a chronic physical disorder, or who grow up in less favorable families and environments. Their mental well-being was already deteriorating before the corona crisis. Several social factors play a role in this, such as performance and happiness pressure, growing up in poverty and concerns about the climate and the housing crisis. The pandemic is over, but these factors are still there. Permanent attention to the mental well-being of young people is therefore of great importance.
Overview report Mental well-being of youth: lessons from the corona crisis
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