This report is part of a series developed in partnership with the Child Outcomes Research Consortium. This paper looks at the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the mental health of children and young people.
Children and young people with pre-existing mental or physical health conditions, LGBTQI+ young people and children and young people of colour are likely to be more negatively impacted by the pandemic.
The headlines from the report are below:
Risk
Boys show fairly steady levels of mental health difficulties between year 7-9 whereas girls show an incremental deterioration.
Resilience
Those with more sources of support experience fewer mental health difficulties.
Change
Supporting emotional regulation in children and young people results in improvements in mental health.
Choice
Where young people are involved in the decision making, it brings a range of benefits.
Our view: relevance to schools and colleges
This report addresses the negative aspects of mental health and is individualised. There is no attention given to the great generosity, kindness and creativity shown by young people, their families and their schools throughout this period.
Therefore, schools and colleges should weigh these findings alongside the many positive aspects which exist. There is also scope to consider the wider structural aspects which we know impact on mental health, for good or bad, such as discrimination, poverty and power inequalities.
