The mental health of children and young people living in big cities in a revolving postpandemic world

Abstract

Purpose of reviewThe world's population is increasingly urban, with most children and young people growing up and living in cities. Evidence suggests that urbanicity is linked to an increased risk for the development of mental health disorders. Rather than an accumulation of risk factors, urbanization is a complex process that profoundly structures living conditions. In this sense, it is timely to discuss what are the social and structural determinants of mental health of children and young people in such settings.Recent findingsThree domains of determinants of mental health were selected for discussion: economics and living conditions, crime and violence, and urban layouts. For each, we debated realities faced by urban children and young people, providing an overview of recent evidence on implications for mental disorders and well being. We also discuss the potential impacts of the covid-19 pandemic on each domain, as well as recommendations for future action.SummaryStructural factors are of major relevance for the mental health of children and young people living in cities. The agenda of mental health promotion and prevention must include whole-of-society interventions aimed at improving living conditions, including economic and social capital, violence prevention and urbanistic planning.

A Study of the Impact of COVID-19 on Urban Contact Networks in China Based on Population Flows

“…The effect of influence attributed to population structure, occupational composition and density has differed significantly, with traders contributing significantly more to transmission and promotion in comparison to the rest of the population [22,23]. In the meantime, psychological changes during the "pandemic" have also differed significantly across flow situations [24,25], with spatial heterogeneity in the hierarchical decline of urban hierarchies as a result of the pandemic [26]. In the context of the pandemic, controlling inter-city population flows exerted a substantial preventive and control role in the initial phase of the pandemic [27], and the comparatively high level of digitalization boosted the capability of cities to cope with shocks and their resilience [28], while the application of a coping strategy scoring tool elevated the scientific nature of the coping strategies [29].…”