Fairer foundations: How has the pandemic affected young people’s mental health?
27 May 2021

This infographic highlights the unequal mental health effects of the pandemic among young people.
Young people’s lives have been significantly impacted by the pandemic – disrupted schooling, lost employment and not being able to see friends. But the effects of the crisis have not been the same for everyone, including a divergence of mental health experiences.
As part of our COVID-19 impact inquiry, the Health Foundation has been working with The McPin Foundation and their Young People's Network to explore the consequences of the pandemic for young people's mental health.
Here, we look at how different groups have been affected so far.
The Health Foundation’s COVID-19 impact inquiry is exploring the pandemic’s implications for health and health inequalities across the UK with a focus on three time periods in relation to the pandemic - before, during and after. It will also shine a light on groups who have been disproportionately affected, hearing from a diverse set of voices across the UK to inform its robust analysis.
We will be sharing findings in July 2021. Sign up to receive updates.
- Mental Health Foundation: Teenagers' mental health under severe pressure as pandemic continues - new research (Nationally representative data gathered between 17 November and 1 December 2020)
- Scottish Journal of Residential Child Care: Delving Deeper to Come Back Stronger - MCR Pathways (data gathered in Spring 2020 in Scotland)
- NHS Digital: Mental Health of Children and Young People in England, 2020 (data is for England, gathered in July 2020)
- Children's Commissioner for Wales: Coronavirus and Me: A second nationwide survey of the views and experiences of children and young people in Wales (data is for Wales, gathered in January 2021)
- Kooth: How Covid-19 is Affecting the Mental Health of Young People in the BAME Community (comparing service use in 2019 and 2020 - March, April and May)
- The Prince's Trust: The Prince's Trust Tesco Youth Index 2021 (data gathered between 25 November and 8 December 2020)
Further reading
Collection
COVID-19 impact inquiry
This UK-wide inquiry explored the relationship between the pandemic and people's health and health...
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Blog series: COVID-19, health and health inequalities
We round up emerging evidence on the unequal impact of the pandemic and the wider governmental and...
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