Children and young people continue to suffer from severe psychological stress even after the corona pandemic. Covid-19 was followed by the war in Ukraine, economic uncertainty and other crises. A fifth of adolescents report a reduced quality of life or have psychological problems.
“Our COPSY study* shows a significant deterioration in the mental health of children and young people at the start of the pandemic and a slow improvement in subsequent years. But now we see that these numbers are stagnant and still high compared to pre-pandemic data. Well-being is no longer affected by the corona pandemic,” says Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer, director of the research department for public health in children and adolescents at the University Hospital Hamburg (UKE).
And further: “Now fears, especially related to global conflicts and the climate crisis, are affecting quality of life and well-being.”
Reduced quality of life
“The quality of life of children and young people deteriorated significantly at the beginning of the pandemic (…). Especially in the winter of 2020/21, during the second lockdown in Germany, almost half of children and young people (48 percent) reported a reduced quality of life. In 2022 and 2023, the quality of life of children and young people improved again. However, this trend did not continue in the autumn of 2024 (seventh survey round). 21 percent of young people still reported a reduced quality of life.
A similar picture emerged with psychological abnormalities. “Over the course of the pandemic, they initially rose significantly to 30 percent, before falling again in 2022/2023. “Today, 22 percent of children and young people still suffer from psychological problems, which is also about five percent more than before the pandemic,” the German experts said.
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“In autumn 2023, in the sixth round of the survey, around half of children and young people said they were worried to varying degrees about various crises, especially global conflicts such as wars, terrorism, the economic and climate crises. A year later, the share of children and young people who are concerned about this has increased significantly.
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A similar time course was also found for anxiety symptoms and signs of depression. Loneliness is also a major problem among young people. 21 percent of respondents said they felt lonely. Before the pandemic, this was only 14 percent.
*As part of their scientific work, UKE scientists are investigating the effects and consequences of the corona pandemic and global crises on the mental health and well-being of children and young people in Germany. A total of 2,865 families with children and young people aged seven to 22 participated in at least one of the seven research waves from May 2020 to October 2024. The eleven to 22-year-olds completed their own online questionnaires. For seven to ten year olds, the parents responded.
Source: Krone
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