The paper, published by the COVID Social Mobility and Opportunities (COSMO) study, warns that incidence of poor mental health among 16 and 17-year-olds has increased by more than a quarter since similar research in 2017.
The study (Holt-White et al, 2022) investigated the mental health and wellbeing of 13,000 young people who were in year 11 in 2021. They were recruited from across 500 schools in England and had been due to take their GCSEs in 2021. Most of them have recently begun year 13.
It finds that 44% of the 16 to 17-year-olds reported elevated psychological distress and met the threshold for “probable mental ill health”. This is up from 35% recorded in similar research in 2017, and 23% in 2007.
The latest study also reveals that students who experienced “major life events” during the pandemic were also more likely to report high psychological distress, including those who saw more arguments between parents or guardians (69%), were seriously ill (68%) struggled to afford food (67%), and argued more with parents or guardians (67%). This compares to 30% of those who did not have these experiences.
The study finds that 17% of the participants said they had self-harmed in the past year – this figure was notable higher for non-binary and female students than male (61% and 23% respectively compared to 11%); 8% of the students said they had attempted to end their life.
Half of the pupils from comprehensive or grammar schools in the study rated their school’s mental health support as “not very good” or “not at all good” compared to just a quarter of those attending independent schools.
And half of the young people said that they are now less motivated to study and learn as a result of the pandemic, with those who reported high psychological distress 31% more likely to say so (68% compared to 37%).
Those reporting poor mental health were also more likely to say they had fallen behind their class mates (45% compared to 27%).
The COSMO study is being led by the UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies, and the Sutton Trust.
The report is calling for improved ring-fenced funding for mental health support in all schools as well as increased funding for preventative and early intervention services. It adds that schools should be allowed to spend their catch-up funding on mental health interventions.
It states: “Mental health and wellbeing support should be added to catch-up activities in schools and colleges for all students, with specific interventions for those with existing mental health issues who feel that the pandemic has affected their academic progress. A proportion of funding for education-related catch up should also be added to funding allocations and ring-fenced for mental health support.”
Dr Jake Anders, associate professor and deputy director of the UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities and COSMO’s principal investigator, said: “The level of young people whose responses suggest concern with their mental health is shocking. And young people particularly badly affected by the events of the pandemic are among those with the highest levels of distress.
“But the levels reached are the continuation of a trend that is evident over the past decade or so. While it is likely that the Covid-19 pandemic has sped this trend up, we should not lay all the blame for this picture at its door. Things were bad before, and that means there are big systematic issues that need fixing. This problem won’t get better on its own.”
The COSMO Study is a national youth cohort study which is examining the short, medium and long-term impacts of the pandemic on educational inequality, wellbeing and social mobility.
- COSMO Study: https://cosmostudy.uk/
- Holt-White et al: Wave 1 Initial Findings – Mental Health and Wellbeing. COVID Social Mobility & Opportunities (COSMO) Study. Briefing No. 4, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities & Sutton Trust, November 2022: https://cosmostudy.uk/publications/mental-health-a...