What is the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on children's mental health and wellbeing?
The coronavirus pandemic and all that it brought with it in the form of national lockdowns, social distancing and mask wearing, has caused upheaval in the lives of children and young people across the world.
Due to the huge disruption in their lives, children and young people are experiencing an increase in anxiety, behavioural issues and conflict at home and in school.
Feeling lonely, anxious about the future and confused is commonplace at the moment as everyone tries to navigate their way through this difficult time.
In 2017 the Mental Health of Children and Young People carried out a survey on 3,570 children and young people.
In July 2020 the Office for National Statistics, the National Centre for Social Research, University of Cambridge and University of Exeter conducted a survey on the same children and young people.
The group surveyed were from various demographics and the data was broken down by gender and age bands of 5 to 10 year olds and 11 to 16 year olds for all categories, and 17 to 22 years old for certain categories, as well as by whether a child is unlikely to have a mental health disorder, possibly has a mental health disorder and probably has a mental health disorder.
Data was also taken from the parents.
were used as a means of comparing children鈥檚 mental health and wellbeing now in comparison to pre-pandemic times.
The key findings were as follows:
- In 2020, one in six (16.0%) children aged 5 to 16 years were identified as having a probable mental health disorder, increasing from one in nine (10.8%) in 2017. The increase was evident in both boys and girls.
- Among those aged 5 to 22 years, 58.9% with a probable mental disorder reported having sleep problems. Young people aged 17 to 22 years with a probable mental disorder were more likely to report sleep problems (69.6%) than any other age group.
- About six in ten (62.6%) children aged 5 to 16 years with a probable mental disorder had regular support from their school or college, compared with 76.4% of children unlikely to have a mental disorder.
- Children and young people with a probable mental disorder were more likely to say that lockdown had made their life worse (54.1% of 11 to 16 year olds, and 59.0% of 17 to 22 year olds), than those unlikely to have a mental disorder (39.2% and 37.3% respectively).1
With these results, it is clear to see that the coronavirus pandemic has had a very negative impact on the mental health of children and young people.
Will children recover?
If and how children and young people will recover from this difficult and strange time is the cause of concern for parents and practitioners worldwide.
Although we do not yet have information on the long-term effects of the pandemic, studies on children who grew up in restrictive environments, for example in refugee camps, conclude that children do bounce back after a setback.
鈥淐hildren are quite resilient and although we don't know everything, we're hopeful that the punchline is that basically with the right support, most children are going to come out of this OK鈥 said child psychologist, Dr. Sharie Coombes.
Financial package crucial for mental health services
The coronavirus pandemic has brought to the forefront the absolute necessity for better mental health services for children and young people across the UK.
In response to this, the government has announced a 拢79 million package to boost mental health support for children and young people.
鈥淭he number of mental health support teams in schools and colleges will grow from 59 to 400 by April 2023, supporting nearly 3 million children.鈥
Support such as this will be crucial in the recovery of children鈥檚 mental health.
At the moment, all we can do is 鈥榗ontrol the controllables鈥; encourage children to talk, tune into their needs, provide a safe space for them and have confidence that they will be OK.
This is a paid-for post written by , an online search platform that lists nurseries, schools, nannies, tutors and companies that operate within the education sector, across the UK.
strive to help keep young people and children mentally well by working with parents to find the right childcare for their child or by providing tips, activities and resources to help support children鈥檚 mental health and well being.