More junk food and mental health issues: how Covid-19 has impacted young people

Homeschooling in lockdown was one the issues identified in the survey. Stock image

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a deep impact on the lives of children and young adults, from the challenges of homelearning to a lack of time with friends and a big rise in the number of 22-year-olds reporting depressive symptoms.

The findings are contained in a special survey of Covid-19 experiences for children and young adults participating in the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study.

Join us Friday 26 March 2021 for the @GrowingUpIre webinar where results from an online survey on young people's experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic will be discussed. Register here:https://t.co/1LVsFX1Ogi#ESRIevents #growingupinireland #covid19 pic.twitter.com/5dLnZFEte3

— Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) (@ESRIDublin) March 19, 2021

The special survey received responses from 5,500 young people, aged 12 and 22, and from more than 3,000 parents, with many reporting major changes in their lives as a result of the pandemic.

For example, the proportion of young adults with elevated scores on a measure of depressive symptoms increased substantially, from 27% at age 20, to 48% of those now aged 22.

Many respondents across both age groups reported increases in low mood and to eating more "junk food and sweets", with heightened incidence of this among girls and young women.

Financial strain

About 10% of 22-year-olds, and a similar proportion of parents of 12-year-olds, were experiencing financial strain at the time of the survey, and more than 20% of the young adults had returned to the parental home during the pandemic, with 72% of 22-year-olds living with their parents last December.

The young adults were also more at risk of having been laid off, ahead of the parents of the 12-year-olds, and 10% of both groups said they were experiencing financial strain, with this most pronounced among those in low-income households.

Over a third of 22-year-olds and a quarter of 12-year-olds were in a household with at least one person who was thought to be at increased risk of severe Covid-19 disease and again low-income families in both groups were more likely to report this.

Both the children and young adults reported increased time contacting friends by phone, but a big reduction in meeting their friends or engaging in cultural activities.

Just half of students in both age-groups said it was "always true" that they had a quiet place to study while learning at home and for two-thirds of 12-year-olds, the return to school last September coincided with their transition from primary to second-level education. 

Low-income families

They were more likely to report negative experiences around the return to school, including finding schoolwork difficult, while students in both age groups were less likely to have a quiet place to study or adequate internet if they were from low-income families.

Dr Aisling Murray, senior research officer at the ESRI and one of the report’s authors, said: “This snapshot of changes to the lived experience of Growing Up in Ireland participants is important not just for the short-term impact but the potential ‘shift’ in the life-course pathways for individuals, especially given the timing around milestone transitions for 12-year-olds starting secondary school and 22-year-olds taking their first steps on the career ladder."

Despite current difficulties, most 12 and 22-year-olds said they were optimistic about the future: 72% of young adults strongly agreed or agreed that they were optimistic about their future and 88% of parents were optimistic about their children's future.