Trauma of 2020 harmed young people’s growth

The year 2020 was so traumatic for young people that their social development has been stunted, a study has found.

Researchers have found young adults felt less intimacy, were less satisfied with relationships and felt less supported by their friends in the year of the pandemic compared to 2019.

Lead study author Dr Janina Bühler, of Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, said: “Our findings [show] that external stressors and environmental variations may set young adults on a less fortunate path.”

The findings were published in the journal Social, Psychological and Personality Science.