The particular impact of the coronavirus pandemic on young people
The SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic, like other infectious disease epidemics that have been analyzed in the scientific space so far, significantly affects people’s mental health. Using the example of infectious disease epidemics such as SARS in 2003 and HIN1 in 2009, it is apparent that such events result in increased psychological problems such as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), psychological tension, depression, and anxiety in the general population[1]. The Covid-19 pandemic, unlike the above epidemics, is characterized by a wider scale of occurrence and a more radical impact on the functioning of societies from an organizational perspective. The outbreak of the current pandemic has prompted authorities around the world to take radical steps to protect human health. One form of restriction has been the imposition of home quarantines on citizens, which studies have shown to reduce infection rates by more than 90%[2]. However, despite the positive effect of quarantine on reducing the spread of coronavirus, this form of social isolation has a longer-term adverse effect on the mental health of people, especially young people. According to numerous psychological theories, it is adolescents and young adults who are particularly susceptible to mental disorders due to the stage of development they are in. As studies report, nearly 80% of mental disorders first appear in people before the age of 26[3] . What’s more, mental difficulties occurring in the early stages of development impinge on the health and social functioning of those affected in adulthood more than physical problems occurring in people at a young age[4]. Unfortunately, even before the global pandemic state, one in five adolescents was already struggling with mental health problems, and suicide was the third most common cause of death in the 15-19 age group[5]. Restrictions on meeting and the obligation to observe home isolation contribute to the increased risk of the problems outlined above, as well as many others. One reason for the worsening psychological difficulties in adolescents during the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic is loneliness. This condition seems to be particularly detrimental precisely for young people who are in the phase of building a social identity and need ties with other people to do so[6]. This article will take a closer look at the results of studies focused on the mental health of the young during the SARS-Cov-2 virus, and will analyze the factors due to which the young suffer psychologically during this difficult time.
Research reports on the mental health of youth from the world and Poland during the coronavirus pandemic
One study of respondents from the UK during the coronavirus pandemic found that young adults there (18-24 years old) were the group that reported the lowest quality of mental health compared to other age groups[7]. Such results illustrate an inverse trend in the level of mental health quality of young people compared to the pre-pandemic trend. Before the global epidemic was declared, it was young adults and older adults who declared the highest levels of well-being in the general population. Such findings may indicate that the exacerbations associated with SARS-Cov-2 are particularly affecting young people.
In another study, psychologists Chen, Sun and Feng looked at seven dimensions of mental health in Chinese youth[8]. They found that adolescents there could be divided into three groups: high-risk, low-risk and – the most numerous – medium-risk, in terms of their mental state during a pandemic. Symptoms of mental problems that were most common in the last group were anxiety, depression and neurasthenia (a constant feeling of fatigue). Other Chinese researchers report that during the pandemic, the young particularly complain of an increase in general anxiety, deterioration in sleep quality and increased irritability[9]. It is possible that young people around the world are facing similar problems.
In contrast, the study, conducted on a group of young Irish people, focused on the issue of not only the current, but also the long-term effects of the pandemic on today’s youth. According to the researchers, the mental difficulties of the young are exacerbated (and will continue to be exacerbated) not only by social isolation, but also by the impediments to providing adequate psychological help to those in need, and by the difficulties (caused by the ongoing economic recession) that young people currently face in their transition to the labor market[10]. First, while youth demand for psychological help during the pandemic is increasing, its availability is decreasing – due to the introduction of restrictions on gathering. The group most affected by the restriction of access to professional support is young people living in unsupportive family environments or exposed to physical and emotional violence at home. It is for such young people that the non-family environment (such as school or a peer group) has been a buffer and protective factor against demoralization and mental problems[11]. Second, during the pandemic, the problems associated with finding employment among young adults intensified. Similar difficulties at a young age may in the future result in an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and the appearance of anxiety and depressive symptoms in people experiencing them. Such a trend can be predicted from studies conducted during the recession in previous years[12].
As for studies devoted to the mental health of Polish adolescents during the coronavirus pandemic, few have been found. The available publications focus on the overall life satisfaction of young Poles. It turns out that the well-being of young people has not deteriorated as much as reported in the national media, however, it has undoubtedly decreased. According to the exploration, many young people in Poland some time after the closure of schools experienced a severe crisis, feeling worse (18% of respondents) or much worse (30% of respondents) compared to before the pandemic. Some, however, reported improved well-being (9%) and satisfaction with life (18%). As for depressive mood, high levels of it during home isolation affected 23% of girls and 8% of boys, with high school students being the most numerous group experiencing such difficulties[13]. The above findings from the Polish research space, although they do not meet the assumptions of the darkest scenario, are disturbing and provide topics for further exploration.
Discussion from the research review and recommendations
The research findings cited in this report are only part of the evidence of the enormous impact of the pandemic and its associated restrictions on young people’s mental health. The effects of the pandemic itself and the closely related restrictions are both short-term and long-term. The mental difficulties of young people, who are the future for our world, should be addressed as one of the priority negative effects of the pandemic. That is why it is recommended to increase the amount of research on the mental health of young people in Poland, along the lines of research conducted in other countries. The conclusions of the explorations should be used to develop mental support programs for youth. Such projects could provide young people with tools to cope with the effects of the current reality, specialized psychological support and protective factors against the long-term effects of the pandemic.
Literature cited
CASPI, Avshalom, et al. Longitudinal assessment of mental health disorders and comorbidities across 4 decades among participants in the Dunedin birth cohort study. JAMA network open, 2020, 3.4: e203221-e203221.
CHEN, Bo; SUN, Jinlu; FENG, Yi. How have COVID-19 isolation policies affected young people’s mental health?-Evidence from Chinese college students. Frontiers in psychology, 2020, 11: 1529.
GLASS, Laura M. & GLASS, Robert J. Social contact networks for the spread of pandemic influenza in children and teenagers. BMC public health, 2008, 8.1: 1-15.
GOODMAN, Alissa; JOYCE, Robert; SMITH, James P. The long shadow cast by childhood physical and mental problems on adult life. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011, 108.15: 6032-6037.
GUNNELL, David, et al. Suicide risk and prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancet Psychiatry, 2020, 7.6: 468-471.
JIAO, Wen Yan, et al. Behavioral and emotional disorders in children during the COVID-19 epidemic. The Journal of pediatrics, 2020, 221: 264.
LIANG, Leilei, et al. The effect of COVID-19 on youth mental health. Psychiatric quarterly, 2020, 91.3: 841-852.
MATTHEWS, Timothy, et al. Lonely young adults in modern Britain: findings from an epidemiological cohort study. Psychological medicine, 2019, 49.2: 268-277.
POWER, Emmet, et al. Youth mental health in the time of COVID-19. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 2020, 37.4: 301-305.
PYŻALSKI, Jacek. Mental health and well-being of young people during the COVID-19 pandemic-review of the most relevant problems. Child Abuse. Theory, Research, Practice, 2021, 20.2: 92-115.
SMITH, Lee, et al. Correlates of symptoms of anxiety and depression and mental wellbeing associated with COVID-19: a cross-sectional study of UK-based respondents. Psychiatry research, 2020, 291: 113138.
VIRTANEN, Pekka; HAMMARSTRÖM, Anne; JANLERT, Urban. Children of boom and recession and the scars to the mental health-a comparative study on the long term effects of youth unemployment. International journal for equity in health, 2016, 15.1: 1-6.
https://unfoundation.org/blog/post/covid-19-is-fueling-a-mental-health-crisis-for-the-worlds-youth/
[1] LIANG, Leilei, et al. The effect of COVID-19 on youth mental health. Psychiatric quarterly, 2020, 91.3: 841-852.
[2] GLASS, Laura M. & GLASS, Robert J. Social contact networks for the spread of pandemic influenza in children and teenagers. BMC public health, 2008, 8.1: 1-15.
[3] CASPI, Avshalom, et al. Longitudinal assessment of mental health disorders and comorbidities across 4 decades among participants in the Dunedin birth cohort study. JAMA network open, 2020, 3.4: e203221-e203221.
[4] GOODMAN, Alissa; JOYCE, Robert; SMITH, James P. The long shadow cast by childhood physical and mental problems on adult life. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2011, 108.15: 6032-6037.
[5] https://unfoundation.org/blog/post/covid-19-is-fueling-a-mental-health-crisis-for-the-worlds-youth/
[6] MATTHEWS, Timothy, et al. Lonely young adults in modern Britain: findings from an epidemiological cohort study. Psychological medicine, 2019, 49.2: 268-277.
[7] SMITH, Lee, et al. Correlates of symptoms of anxiety and depression and mental wellbeing associated with COVID-19: a cross-sectional study of UK-based respondents. Psychiatry research, 2020, 291: 113138.
[8] CHEN, Bo; SUN, Jinlu; FENG, Yi. How have COVID-19 isolation policies affected young people’s mental health?-Evidence from Chinese college students. Frontiers in psychology, 2020, 11: 1529.
[9] JIAO, Wen Yan, et al. Behavioral and emotional disorders in children during the COVID-19 epidemic. The Journal of pediatrics, 2020, 221: 264.
[10] POWER, Emmet, et al. Youth mental health in the time of COVID-19. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine, 2020, 37.4: 301-305.
[11] GUNNELL, David, et al. Suicide risk and prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Lancet Psychiatry, 2020, 7.6: 468-471.
[12] VIRTANEN, Pekka; HAMMARSTRÖM, Anne; JANLERT, Urban. Children of boom and recession and the scars to the mental health-a comparative study on the long term effects of youth unemployment. International journal for equity in health, 2016, 15.1: 1-6.
[13] PYŻALSKI, Jacek. Mental health and well-being of young people during the COVID-19 pandemic-review of the most relevant problems. Child Abuse. Theory, Research, Practice, 2021, 20.2: 92-115.