The pandemic badly affected young people’s mental health – but also showed what they need now to thrive
The common narrative around teenage behaviour in the UK sets parents up for a fairly sustained period of turbulence and unpleasantness.
But as I navigate the teenage years with my oldest daughter, now 16, my whole outlook on adolescence has undergone a meteoric transformation. I now hold supremely compassionate explanations for the unusual behaviour, mood swings and bad choices that appear to be abundant features of the adolescent years – and especially so for those who were growing up during the pandemic.
During the COVID pandemic, teens should have been busy cultivating independence, nurturing friendships and moulding their identities. Instead, they lived through a global public health crisis that resulted in not only catastrophic health and economic consequences, but also extreme disruptions in vital educational, social and family interactions over a sustained lockdown.
Read more: Sending nudes but no first kisses: teenagers' relationships during the pandemic
This has left a lasting legacy for the lives of young people and has potentially reshaped the landscape of their social and emotional development.
During the pandemic, I immersed myself in data – taken from research I was working on with a team of researchers who were monitoring the mental health of the UK population.
Mental health decline
In the early days, teens were – as they often do – getting bad press. They were “superspreaders”, they were breaking the rules, they were instructed by the then health secretary, Matt Hancock, not to “kill your gran”. They were, essentially, accused of spreading the virus through irresponsible behaviour.
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Some of these perspectives were borne out in our data. Young men aged 19-25, for example, were more likely than any other age group to be arrested for breaking social distancing rules. This reflects the inherent teenage drive to seek social connection, even if it means taking risks.
However, as we listened to the voices of young people in our research, the data began to tell us a more complex story. In a world where teens are already misunderstood, the pandemic actually seemed to be making all the existing struggles that young people face today worse, including loneliness, anxiety and depression.
Teens experienced uncertainty about the future and pressure around school, career and finances, resulting in a perceived lack of a sense of control over their lives.
We became very concerned about the increasing levels of distress that certain groups of young people were experiencing. This was particularly worrying when you bear in mind that adolescence is a critical period for developing mental health issues.
Our research showed that during the pandemic, around 30% of teens surveyed met the criteria for suffering from clinical levels of anxiety and depression. Over half – 53% – met the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder related to COVID.
Other data shows that teens are suffering increasing mental health disorders and eating disorders. Mental health issues are affecting sleep and school attendance.
After the school years, the number of young people out of work due to ill health has more than doubled in the last decade, with mental health issues a significant driver.
These figures plainly present the extent of the challenge we face today in improving teenagers’ mental health and wellbeing. Underlying these figures are enduring struggles around loneliness and social connection, family functioning, anxiety and fear about unpredictable events, and learning to cope with adversity, especially in younger teens and those already disadvantaged through poverty and other social factors.
Feeling connected
However, and importantly, not all teens experienced lasting poorer mental wellbeing as a consequence of COVID. Some actually experienced positive wellbeing.
Our research found that young people who had the ability to tolerate uncertainty, had a sense of control over their lives, felt socially connected and had positive and quality relationships with family and friends were better able to adapt to the pandemic restrictions.
The crisis in young people’s mental health means securing a healthy, thriving adult population in the future becomes less certain. If young people cannot navigate the transition into adulthood successfully, this has huge implications for the next generation and whether they can contribute in positive ways, socially and economically, to society.
But there are lessons from the pandemic that can shine a light on the tools young people need to thrive. Young people received blame during the pandemic. Today, gen Z (those born between 1980 and 1994) have been given the derogatory label of the “snowflake generation” from a perception of their over-sensitivity and lack of resilience. But rather than being castigated, young people need support and connection. This helped them get through the pandemic, and it can help them now.
This means helping teens to combat loneliness, develop resilience and build functional, good quality relationships. It means helping them to increase their self-esteem and regain a sense of control. Crucially, the family remains a key source of support and guidance for young people.
Adolescence is a key transitional window during which young people can learn adaptive skills they will take with them into adulthood. Having the skills to build connections, resilience and self-esteem will help them address the challenges of this post-pandemic era.
Jilly Gibson-Miller receives funding from ESRC, Triumph and UK Research and Innovation funds.