Young ‘suffer most in lockdown’

MILLIONS of young people have struggled with their mental health and wellbeing during lockdown, official figures reveal.

Loneliness, boredom and worries about education have all taken their toll.

And the younger generation has coped less well than their grandparents, the Office for National Statistics data showed.

Around four in 10 of those aged 16 to 29 said their mental health had deteriorated, compared with a quarter of people aged 30 to 59 and 15 per cent of those aged 60-plus.

Younger people also struggled more with loneliness.

The ONS analysis found that, of those who said the pandemic had affected their wellbeing, 51 per cent of 16 to 29-year-olds felt lonely, compared with 27 per cent of 30 to 59-year-olds and 26 per cent of people over 60.

The under-30s are also much more likely to feel bored. Some 76 per cent of those who said their wellbeing had been affected by the crisis reported feeling bored.

This is compared to 45 per cent of those aged 30 to 59 and 43 per cent in the third category.

Richard Crellin, of The Children’s Society, said: “These findings lay bare the devastating impact that being unable to attend school and college is having.

Uncertainty

“This is causing worry for young people, not only about their ability to learn now but also their future plans.

“It’s harming their wellbeing at a time when they are already more likely to be lonely and to report bigger impacts on their mental health than older people.

“We don’t know how children under 16 are feeling, because the Government does not properly measure their wellbeing as it does for over-16s.

“But it is clearly a major concern that they are also being hit hard and could suffer long-term consequences.

“That is why it is crucial the Government urgently shares its plan to ensure young people can safely return to education as soon as possible.”

It is three months today since the UK ground to a halt in a bid to protect people from coronavirus, many being furloughed.

The ONS figures cover the period from April 3 to May 10 and are based on responses to its regular opinions and lifestyle survey in Britain.

The body analysed responses from 6,400 adults, including 740 aged 16 to 29.

Around two-thirds of this age group who were worried about Covid-19 said their wellbeing had been affected.

Three measures of wellbeing were used: life satisfaction; feelings that things done in life are worthwhile; and happiness. Young people reported much lower scores on average than those aged 60 and over.

But they tended to be more optimistic than older age groups about how long they expected the effect of the pandemic to last, with 55 per cent expecting their lives to return to normal within six months.

People aged in their 60s were the least optimistic about how long it will take for life to return to normal.

Lily Parsey, from the International Longevity Centre UK, said: “Our experiences of the pandemic and our priorities coming out of lockdown vary.

“While younger people are more likely to be worried about schools, universities, work and finances, older people are more concerned about accessing essential products and services and staying safe.

“But while our priorities might shift in different stages of our lives, our overarching aims seem to stay very much the same – to support those most at risk, to restore our economy and to overcome this virus.

“Let’s not pitch young against old. This pandemic has shown us that policy works best when designed for all ages.

“Whether we’re today’s, tomorrow’s or yesterday’s younger or older people, we will need to continue working together to come out of lockdown and to rebuild our economy for a post-pandemic world.”

Worries about finances also produced a generational divide, ONS data showed.

Some 30 per cent of people aged 16 to

29 were significantly more likely to report an impact on their finances against just 13 per cent of those aged 60-plus.

Among young people with financial worries, a loss of income (84 per cent) and being unable to save (38 per cent) were the most common problems.

Rachael Griffin, tax expert at financial services firm Quilter, said: “Many young people will be really worried about career prospects. If they’re just entering the workforce, it is obviously a difficult environment to be looking for your first job.

“And for those already in work, they have less experience on the CV to give them confidence that they will be able to find a new position if they are made redundant. That means that many of them are particularly worried about the risk of a loss of income.

“It is also likely they will have fewer financial resources to fall back on if they face financial difficulties.

“Whereas older age groups are more likely to have savings and assets they can rely on if they suffer a loss of income.”

As many as 84 per cent of those aged 16 to 29 reported being hit by a significant reduction in their income, and 38 per cent admitted being concerned about their ability to save money.

Emma-Lou Montgomery, of investment group Fidelity International, said: “The pandemic has changed the way we live and work with younger people in particular facing significant uncertainty.”