Mental problems among young people not increased by Covid, new research concludes

Perhaps the consequences of the corona lockdowns were not as severe for young people as widely assumed. This is the conclusion of new doctoral research into a group of 16 to 24-year-olds during the first year of the pandemic.

Have young people suffered lasting effects from the Covid-19 pandemic and the associated lockdowns? After all, at a time when their social lives were flourishing, they were required to keep their distance or stay indoors.

Child psychologist and researcher Naomi Koning questions the prevailing notion that young people were severely affected by this situation. Numerous studies on mental health contradict each other: some observe an effect, while others do not. She tracked 263 young people in the first year of the pandemic and found no increase in mental problems among them.

Social obligations

Koning is set to defend her doctoral thesis at the University of Amsterdam next week, which explores the impact of the lockdowns on the mental wellbeing of young people aged 16 to 24. “When I started this research, I also expected that such an impactful event would have more of an effect, but I did not find that in my studies”, she told the university news platform Folia.

Some young people indeed struggled more, but for others, things improved. They suddenly had a good reason to forgo social obligations, resulting in less social anxiety.

Koning also refutes the idea that young people collectively ignored corona regulations during the pandemic. The majority of young people in her study declared themselves supportive of the vulnerable in society and adhered to the rules.

Corona fatigue

However, this research does not provide a definitive answer to the question of how much mental harm corona has caused. Although Koning intensively followed ‘her’ young people in the first year, she has no data regarding the following years. Additionally, international research on such questions has yet to yield clear answers.

It’s quite possible, for instance, that young people experienced more issues with corona fatigue later on, writes Koning. Especially with the constantly changing measures, it’s conceivable that they were fed up after a year.