Young adults suffer greatest decline in happiness during Covid-19 pandemic
‘Self-doubt’ prevalent among teens for third-level prospects
NEW data has revealed an 80pc decrease in the number of young adults aged 18-34 who would rate their overall life satisfaction as ‘high’ in April this year compared to 2018.
Figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) showed more than four in 10 younger adults reported that the pandemic had a negative financial impact on them, in comparison to two in 10 of respondents aged 70 and over.
When asked about consumption, respondents aged 18-34 were least likely to report no change in their consumption of alcohol, tobacco, junk food and sweets.
As for their personal concerns, 70.5pc of those aged in the bracket were more likely to be ‘very or extremely’ concerned about someone else’s health.
Almost one-third, or 32.4pc, of respondents said they felt downhearted or depressed at least some of the time in the four weeks prior to interview, compared to just over one in 10 in 2018 and two in 10 in 2013.
Concerns
Findings showed 76.9pc of respondents living in multiple-person households were ‘somewhat’ or ‘very concerned’ about household stress from confinement, while 6pc were concerned about violence in the home.
Those in the 18-34 age bracket were the least likely to report high overall life satisfaction and their 80pc decrease was the largest across all age groups between 2018 and April 2020.
The corresponding decrease for respondents aged 70 and over was just over 60pc, from 44.6pc to 17.6pc.
At 51pc, married respondents were the most likely to rate their satisfaction with their personal relationships as high in April 2020.
More than three in five of respondents aged 70 and over reported a high satisfaction rating for personal relationships in both 2018 and April 2020, and while almost three in five respondents aged 18-34 gave a high satisfaction rating for personal relationships in 2018, this fell to fewer than two in five in April 2020.
Meanwhile, teenagers “feel some self-doubt” about higher education expectations, according to a new study.
The ‘Growing up in Ireland’, (GUI) study, from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), showed teenagers beginning their second-level education have lower expectations about their educational career than their parents have for them.
Only 51pc of the children sampled expect to study at a university or an institute of technology, compared to 79pc of their mothers who expect this of them.
This compares with the actual proportion entering higher education of around
A mother’s education is found to have a stronger impact than social class or income
70pc at the time the survey was conducted.
According to the study, the main factors involved in the education career expectation of the teenagers is their school experience and their parents’ knowledge of higher education.
A mother’s education is found to have a stronger impact than social class or household income, with much higher expectations among young people whose mothers have undergraduate or postgraduate degrees.
Young people who have more positive interaction with their teachers – being praised or given positive feedback – have higher expectations, while those who have negative interaction – like being given out to often – hold lower expectations.
Girls, the study found, not only have a higher expectation for their own journey through education, but mothers also have higher expectations for their daughters than they do for their sons.