Abstract
Little is known about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and psychological well-being of young people. The aim of this study is to investigate the psychological well-being and changes in the mental-health state of young people living in Austria and Turkey. By using an anonymous online survey, we recruited 1240 people aged 15–25 years from these two countries. We used the “Psychological General Well-being” and a self-created questionnaire to capture individual experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and quarantine period. The native Turks indicated higher “anxiety” (ps < 0.010), lower “vitality” (ps < 0.011), and lower “general health” (ps < 0.011) than native Austrians or Austrian migrants and increased “depression” (p = 0.005) and lower “self-control” (p = 0.022), than Austrian migrants. Moreover, 50.9% of native Turks reported a decrease in their mental health status, compared to 31.1% of native Austrians and 23.7% of Austrian migrants. Participants with financial problems (OR = 1.68) and prior mental health problems (i.e., already in treatment by the time of COVID-19, OR = 5.83) reported a higher probability for a worsening in their mental health status. Our results show that the COVID-19 pandemic impaired the psychological well-being and mental health of young people. Especially people in Turkey were most affected, probably due to the stringent policies to fight COVID-19.
Highlights
In early 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the outbreak of a new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and by March 2020, COVID-19 was confirmed to be a pandemic [1]
We found that 8.9% of the native Austrian sample (n = 55), 8.6% of the migrants in Austria (n = 20), and 25.6% of young Turks living in Turkey (n = 99) were already in psychological treatment due to pre-existing mental health problems
Native Turks reported significantly more of a decrease in their mental health status than native Austrians and migrants in Austria, in all groups, participants with financial problems and those already in treatment had a higher probability to report a decrease in mental health status
Summary
In early 2020 the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed the outbreak of a new coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and by March 2020, COVID-19 was confirmed to be a pandemic [1]. Austria as well as Turkey adopted lockdown strategies to contain COVID-19, which had different restrictions for public, professional, and private life. People who did not obey the limitations had legal penalties, mostly fines, and the legal base of such measures have been challenged in Austria even up to the constitutional court. Because these measures are in the case of a national health emergency but potentially place restrictions on human rights, it is especially important to examine the scientific basis of such justifications and their possible impact on public health, human rights, and the medico-legal system
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