‘You’re just there, alone in your room with your thoughts’: a qualitative study about the psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among young people living in the UK

Abstract

ObjectivesAdolescents and young adults have been greatly affected by quarantine measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, but little is understood about how restrictions have affected their well-being, mental health, and social life. We therefore aimed to learn more about how UK quarantine measures affected the social lives, mental health and well-being of adolescents and young adults.DesignQualitative interview study. The data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, with particular attention paid to contextual factors (such as age, gender, ethnicity and health status) when analysing each individual transcript.SettingData collection took place remotely across the UK via audio or video call, between June 2020 and January 2021.ParticipantsWe conducted semi-structured interviews with 37 participants (aged 13–24 years) to elicit their views.ResultsAuthors generated four themes during the qualitative analysis: (a) concerns about disruption to education, (b) missing social contact during lockdown, (c) changes to social relationships and (d) improved well-being during lockdown. Many participants said they struggled with a decline in mental health during the pandemic, lack of support and concern about socialising after the pandemic. However, some participants described experiences and changes brought on by the pandemic as helpful, including an increased awareness of mental health and feeling more at ease when talking about it, as well as stronger relationship ties with family members.ConclusionsFindings suggest that young people may have felt more comfortable when talking about their mental health compared with prepandemic, in part facilitated by initiatives through schools, universities and employers. However, many were worried about how the pandemic has affected their education and social connections, and support for young people should be tailored accordingly around some of these concerns.

Adolescent Experiences of the COVID-19 Pandemic and School Closures and Implications for Mental Health, Peer Relationships and Learning: A Qualitative Study in South-West England

“…Findings relating to peer connectedness also highlighted the importance of young people having a core group of friends who they could rely on and talk to about their feelings. The pandemic appears to have given adolescents a chance to reflect on and assess what is really meaningful to them, which aligns with a qualitative study which found increased self-awareness amongst young people [ 41 ]. Our findings particularly noted the role of the pandemic in understanding the importance of relationships—aligning with a recent Portuguese adolescent study [ 3 ].…”

“…Young people voiced that it was important for there to be a period of stability for them whether that be at home or in school. Students discussed particular frustration with the uncertainty around exams and what format these would take, which echoes findings from a recent qualitative study in the UK in which students (aged 13–17) reported feeling stressed with the lack of clear guidance on how schools would manage coursework and exams amid school closures [ 41 ].…”

The impact of the initial and second national COVID-19 lockdowns on mental health in young people with and without pre-existing depressive symptoms

“…The lockdown and the social isolation might have given individuals with depressive symptoms more calmness, as the new circumstances were in line with their normal daily life. This is also supported in a qualitative study where a small group of young people described how their mental health had improved during the initial lockdown ( McKinlay et al, 2022 ). Young people without pre-existing depressive symptoms however showed a deterioration in mental health which might represent a normal fear in response to an unpredicted crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Exploring Barriers and Facilitators to Physical Activity during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study

“…Interviewers were male and female postgraduate researchers who had prior experience of conducting qualitative interviews with people experiencing physical and mental health difficulties, and vulnerable groups. Interviews followed a topic guide designed to explore the impact of the pandemic on participants’ mental health, social lives and worries for the future, the findings of which have been published [ 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]. No formal piloting of the interview schedule took place, as it was deemed important for the study to commence as soon as possible to capture early experiences of the pandemic.…”