Examining socioeconomic disparities in changes in adolescent mental health before and during different phases of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

This study examined socioeconomic disparities in changes in adolescent mental health between fall 2019 (pre-COVID-19), spring 2020 (initial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) phase), and fall 2020 (prevailing COVID-19 phase). Using data from 1429 adolescents (Mage  = 17.9) from tertiary vocational schools in the Netherlands with n = 386 participating in all three waves, linear and latent basis growth curve models were assessed and multigroup analyses conducted. Results showed a small but significant decrease in life satisfaction and small but significant increases in emotional problems, peer relationship problems, conduct problems, and hyperactivity-inattention problems. For emotional problems and peer relationship problems, increases between pre-COVID-19 and the initial COVID-19 phase were more pronounced than increases between the initial and prevailing COVID-19 phase. In contrast, linear decreases were found for life satisfaction and linear increases for conduct problems and hyperactivity-inattention problems over the course of the study. Mental health patterns were largely comparable for adolescents from families with varying socioeconomic status.

‘I Think It’ll All Blow Over in the End’: How Young People Perceive the Impact of COVID-19 on Their Future Orientations

Since the beginning of 2020, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and its lockdowns have changed the current lives of young people drastically. Given the importance of future orientations for young people?s mental well-being, it is important to investigate if and how this lockdown affected young people?s future orientations. In this study, 34 Dutch young people (aged 16?24) with diverse backgrounds were interviewed during the lockdown of spring 2020 in the Netherlands. Results showed that young people experienced effects of COVID-19 on their current lives and short-term futures, but according to these young people, their long-term futures would not be affected by the first COVID-19 lockdown. The latter finding may be explained by young people?s assumed temporality of the pandemic, their general optimistic attitudes, two-track thinking, strong feelings of agency and flexibility.