Children’s wellbeing affected by the lingering effects of COVID-19 pandemic

While COVID-19 lockdowns aren’t any longer mandated, the stress and anxiety of the pandemic still lingers, especially amongst young South Australians, say health experts on the University of South Australia.

In a brand new study released today, researchers show that children’s mental health and wellbeing have step by step worsened over the past six years, particular during and post the pandemic.

Examining measures of wellbeing – life satisfaction, optimism, happiness, cognitive engagement, emotional regulation, perseverance, worry, and sadness – amongst greater than 56,000 South Australian school children (in grades 4 to nine and aged 9-14) the study found that the majority wellbeing measures declined over time, consistently worsening from 2020 onwards which correlated with COVID-19.

It also found that female students, children in higher 12 months levels, and students from lower socioeconomic cohorts were more more likely to have poor wellbeing than their counterparts.

Wellbeing covers various dimensions of psychological, physical, emotional, cognitive, and social experiences. Higher wellbeing is related to healthy lifestyle behaviors like exercise, healthy eating, and self-esteem; and lower wellbeing is related to smoking, alcohol, and drug use.

Lead researcher, UniSA’s Dr Dot Dumuid, says the COVID-19 pandemic has had long-lasting disruptions for Australian children.

“Through the pandemic, children had to alter the best way they learn, play and socialize, all of the while living in an environment of widespread uncertainty and anxiety,” Dr Dumuid says.

“Children and young people have handled school closures, isolation, social distancing and canceled extracurricular activities, and this has led to decreased levels of physical activity and increased sedentary time.

“Now that pandemic restrictions have been lifted, life has not necessarily gone back to the way it was pre-pandemic. And once we assessed how children have fared by way of wellbeing across this era, the news was not good.

“Wellbeing clearly dropped during covid and has shown little signs of improvement since then. But certain groups were more affected than others, with worsening wellbeing particularly worrying for female students, students in later school grades, and students with socioeconomic drawback.”

The evaluation was conducted on cross-sectional annual data between 2017-2022 from data within the South Australian Wellbeing and Engagement Collective census. Children self-reported responses.

Co researcher, Prof Carol Maher, says that while the info originates from South Australia, the implications are more likely to be globally relevant.

“The COVID-19 pandemic, sweeping changes in kid’s lifestyles – from physical activity and screen time to sleep and eating regimen – and the pervasive influence of social media aren’t regional anomalies. They’re global phenomena likely impacting kid’s wellbeing worldwide.”

Dr Dumuid says now’s a very critical time to support young people’s wellbeing.

“There may be a transparent indication that urgent and equitable support is required to enhance the wellbeing of all young people, particularly those facing disparity,” Dr Dumuid says.

“This is just not only necessary for youngsters’s present experiences, but additionally their future potential.

“Of particular concern is that the info shows worsening of wellbeing in children of the identical age, which indicates that children aged 9-14 are at-risk age groups for poor mental health.

“While there are suggestions that reduced physical activity and increased use of social media and screens could also be contributing to poor wellbeing, more research on this area is required.”

Initiatives similar to the Federal Government’s release of a brand new National Wellbeing Framework, and the South Australian Department for Education’s School Mental Health Service are welcomed, Dr Dumuid says.

Managing wellbeing and mental health in young people requires a whole-of-community approach. Government and college wellbeing programs are definitely a step in the suitable direction, but rather a lot more must be done to make sure this young group of Australians doesn’t slip through the cracks. Everyone has a responsibility to look out for the following generation. All of us play a task in the general wellbeing of our children.”

Dr Dot Dumuid, Lead Researcher, UniSA