Youth, the pandemic and a global mental health crisis

An alarming percentage of children and adolescents are experiencing a global-wide mental crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic according to a new University of Calgary study published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics.

“Estimates show that one in four youth globally are experiencing clinically elevated depression symptoms while one in five have clinically elevated anxiety symptoms,” says Dr. Nicole Racine, PhD, a postdoctoral associate, clinical psychologist and lead author of the paper. Further alarming, these symptoms are compounding over time.

The UCalgary study — which incorporates 16 studies from East Asia, four from Europe, six from North America, two from Central and South America and one from the Middle East — also shows that older adolescents and girls are experiencing the highest levels of depression and anxiety.

“We know from other studies that rates of depression and anxiety in youth tend to ebb and flow with restrictions,” says Dr. Sheri Madigan, PhD, co-author of the paper, a UCalgary clinical psychologist and Canada Research Chair in Determinants of Child Development. “When more restrictions are imposed, rates go up. Being socially isolated, kept away from their friends, their school routines, and social interactions has proven to be really hard on kids.”

She adds: “When COVID-19 started, most people thought it would be difficult at the outset but that kids would be better over time, as they adjusted and got back to school. But when the pandemic persisted, youth missed a lot of milestones in their lives. It went on for well over a year and for young people that’s a really substantial period of their lives.”