Mental Health and Wellbeing in Young People in the UK during Lockdown (COVID-19).

Eleanor Hall,Rosie Fitzgibbon,Matthew Owens,Ellen Townsend,Francesca Miller-Lakin,Tanisha Bhatia

doi:10.3390/ijerph19031132

Abstract

This study aimed to assess the levels of mental wellbeing and potential for clinical need in a sample of UK university students aged 18–25 during the COVID-19 pandemic. We also tested the dose-response relationship between the severity of lockdown restrictions and mental wellbeing. We carried out a prospective shortitudinal study (one month between baseline and follow up) during the pandemic to do this and included 389 young people. We measured a range of facets of mental wellbeing, including depression, depressogenic cognition (rumination), wellbeing, stress and sleep disturbance. Our primary outcome was ‘probable depression’ as indexed by a score of ≥10 on the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-8). The prevalence of probable depression was significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels (55%) and did not decrease significantly over time (52%). Higher levels of lockdown severity were prospectively associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Nearly all students had at least one mental wellbeing concern at either time point (97%). The evidence suggests that lockdown has caused a wellbeing crisis in young people. The associated long-term mental, social, educational, personal and societal costs are as yet unknown but should be tracked using further longitudinal studies.

Highlights

As a way of attempting to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and slowingCOVID-19 transmission, many countries around the globe implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) in an effort to limit social contact throughout society
The majority of the sample reported that stress had increased either a little or a lot (84.17%), that sleep had got a little or a lot worse (59.10%), that their dietary habits had got either a little or a lot more unhealthy (53.83%), and that they had engaged in either a little or a lot less physical activity (55.41%)
Young people were left relatively unscathed by Sars-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic and yet the evidence presented here suggests that lockdowns are likely causing psychopathology that may in turn herald a chronic course of negative outcomes, including educational, social, economic, physical, societal and personal costs

Summary

Introduction

As a way of attempting to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and slowingCOVID-19 transmission, many countries around the globe implemented non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) in an effort to limit social contact throughout society. As a way of attempting to control the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and slowing. In the case of the UK, a number of strategies to reduce the spread of infection have far been tried, including: limiting non-essential contact and travel, stay at home orders, social distancing, home-working, school closure, limiting outdoor social gatherings (the ‘rule of six’), curfews for hospitality and remote online learning. 23rd of March 2020 and saw schools closed to most pupils and the end of face-to-face teaching in universities. The latter was replaced with digital delivery of synchronous and asynchronous online lectures and seminars. The UK government perceived the use of national lockdowns as necessary, primarily to control the virus, protect the National Health

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