Well-being during the pandemic – insights from a rapid review on the mental health of disadvantaged youth and young adults

Publication type

Journal Article

Authors

Publication date

October 15, 2022

Summary:

The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic had a wide range of impacts on living conditions, opportunities and mental health. As discussed by society and supported by some studies, young people were particularly affected. The aim of this review was to provide an overview of research that explicitly addressed the mental health outcomes of adolescents’ and young adults’ transition. A systematic literature search in PubMed, PsycInfo, PSYNDEX, Embase and LIVIVO was conducted in February 2022. 42 of 2562 screened publications from industrialized/high-income countries were included and analyzed. All included publications show that the mental health of young people worsened during the pandemic. Several studies suggest(ed) that youths with less education and low socioeconomic status were affected most. Regarding different stages of adolescence, study results are heterogeneous. Evidence indicates that schools as institutions are important settings for everyday lives, personal development and education of young people. The review shows that there is a need for research and scientifically validated recommendations for practice. Further consideration should focus on the implementation of sustainable structures on the local level to strengthen resilience, minimize risk factors for young people’s mental health and create opportunities for valuable transitions.

Published in

Sustainability

Volume

Volume: 14

DOI

https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912730

ISSN

20711050

Subjects

Notes

Open Access

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland

This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/)

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