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

Matthew Owens, Ellen Townsend, Eleanor Hall, Tanisha Bhatia, Rosie Fitzgibbon and Francesca Miller-Lakin
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Matthew Owens: Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
Ellen Townsend: Self-Harm Research Group, School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK
Eleanor Hall: Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
Tanisha Bhatia: Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
Rosie Fitzgibbon: Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
Francesca Miller-Lakin: Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 3, 1-15

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.

Keywords: wellbeing; depression; stress; sleep; rumination; young adults; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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