also showed decreases in emotional problems after the lockdown, a finding that the authors hypothesized was due to their use of parent-report data which may have underestimated adolescent distress.
Additionally, data from a 10-year longitudinal study in Spain ( Ezpeleta et al., 2020) found increases in conduct, peer, prosocial, and total problems, following the lockdown. Adverse changes were stronger for girls, low-income families, and single parent households. The UK Household Longitudinal Survey, which has been collecting data from youth (ages 10–16) since 2009, found a significant decrease in the proportion of adolescents with a “low level” of emotional and peer relationship problems and a decrease in those with a “high level” of prosocial behaviors ( Hu & Qian, 2021). who participated in at least two waves of data collection before and during the pandemic, showed a within-person increase in mental health problems after controlling for changes associated with maturation ( Hussong et al., 2021). For example, data from parent–child dyads in the U.S. Longitudinal studies that have looked at mental health symptoms broadly, also have found significant increases. Another study, using questionnaires completed by youth and parents in the U.S., also found significant increases: 31.7% versus 56.7% of youth were in the subclinical or clinical range for internalizing problems in 2018 compared to 2020, and 17.4% versus 56.2% were in the subclinical or clinical range for externalizing problems in 2018 compared to 2020 ( Rosen et al., 2021). One study that provides such data is the NHS Digital survey of youth mental health in England ( NHS Digital, 2020), which reported that 17% of youth had a probable mental health disorder in July 2020 compared with 11% in 2017 these elevated rates persisted in 2021 ( NHS Digital, 2021). Studies that provide prevalence rates of probable mental health disorders in the general population immediately prior and after pandemic onset (i.e., March 2020) are scarce.
Changes in youth mental health since the start of the pandemic The current paper provides an overview of youth mental health in the context of COVID-19 and addresses five timely questions: 1) How has COVID-19 affected youth mental health outcomes? 2) What factors have contributed to mental health risk and resilience during COVID-19? 3) How has COVID-19 affected mental health services utilization? 4) What has been the impact of evidence-based treatments during COVID-19? and, 5) What are future directions for clinical research and policy to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the mental health of youth?ġ.1. COVID-19 has also created new challenges for mental health treatment, and the equitable delivery of quality services to those in need. Studies conducted at the onset and throughout the course of the pandemic have noted increased mental health problems among youth, with greater impact noted among vulnerable subgroups, such as those with pre-existing mental health problems, those with physical disabilities, racial and ethnic minorities, and sexual minorities ( Hawke et al., 2020, 2021). Consistent with previous pandemics (e.g., H1N1 influenza, Ebola), a growing body of literature shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a deleterious impact on youth mental health ( Meherali et al., 2021 Singh et al., 2020).
While there were already concerns about youth mental health prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the past two years have exposed children and adolescents to unprecedented events such as repeated periods of quarantine, school closures, disrupted peer relationships, COVID-19 infections, loss of loved ones, and a general sense of unpredictability in their lives. The World Health Organization ( WHO, 2022) and the United Nations ( United Nations, 2020) also have published numerous scientific and policy briefs that echo these sentiments on a global level. Surgeon General has warned that young people are facing “devastating” mental health effects as a result of the challenges experienced by their generation, including the coronavirus pandemic (U.S.
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