Happier during lockdown: a descriptive analysis of self-reported wellbeing in 17,000 UK school students during Covid-19 lockdown.
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Publication Date
2022-02-17Journal Title
Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry
ISSN
1018-8827
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Language
eng
Type
Article
This Version
VoR
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Soneson, E., Puntis, S., Chapman, N., Mansfield, K. L., Jones, P. B., & Fazel, M. (2022). Happier during lockdown: a descriptive analysis of self-reported wellbeing in 17,000 UK school students during Covid-19 lockdown.. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01934-z
Description
Funder: The Westminster Foundation
Abstract
Relatively little research has focused on children and young people (CYP) whose mental health and wellbeing improved during Covid-19 lockdown measures. We aimed to (1) determine the proportion of CYP who self-reported improvement in their mental wellbeing during the first Covid-19 lockdown and (2) describe the characteristics of this group in relation to their peers. We conducted a descriptive analysis of data from the 2020 OxWell Student Survey, a self-report, cross-sectional survey of English CYP. A total of 16,940 CYP primarily aged 8-18 years reported on change in mental wellbeing during lockdown. We characterised these CYP in terms of school, home, relational, and lifestyle factors as well as feelings about returning to school. One-third (33%) of CYP reported improved mental wellbeing during the first UK national lockdown. Compared with peers who reported no change or deterioration, a higher proportion of CYP with improved mental wellbeing reported improved relationships with friends and family, less loneliness and exclusion, reduced bullying, better management of school tasks, and more sleep and exercise during lockdown. In conclusion, a sizeable minority of CYP reported improved mental wellbeing during lockdown. Determining the reasons why these CYP felt they fared better during lockdown and considering how these beneficial experiences can be maintained beyond the pandemic might provide insights into how to promote the future mental health and wellbeing of school-aged CYP. All those working with CYP now have an opportunity to consider whether a systemic shift is needed in order to understand and realise any learnings from experiences during the pandemic.
Keywords
Mental health, Young People, School, Wellbeing, Lockdown, Covid-19
Sponsorship
Funding ES is funded by a Gates Cambridge Scholarship (Grant Number: OPP1144). SP is funded by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Post-Doctoral Fellowship award (Grant Number PDF-2017-10-029) and The Westminster Foundation. NC is supported by funding from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) Emerging Minds Network. KLM is funded by the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20005). PBJ is supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration East of England. MF was supported by funding from the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Oxford and Thames Valley at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. The OxWell Student Survey is supported by the NIHR Oxford Health Biomedical Research Centre, an MRC Pathfinder Award to the University of Oxford, and the Westminster Foundation. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Funder references
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) (Applied Research Collaboration Oxford, Thames Valley, Applied Research Collaboration East of England, NIHR-INF-0943, PDF-2017-10-029)
Medical Research Council (MC_PC_17215, Pathfinder Award)
UK Research and Innovation (Emerging Minds Network)
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1144)
NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre (BRC-1215-20005)
Identifiers
35174418, PMC8853175
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01934-z
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/335245
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