Research Review: Mending the mental health of today’s children and youth.
Posted April 11, 2022, By Mindi Wisman
Today we bring you a research update from our newest project: The Foresight Initiative. We will be regularly sharing brief reviews of the literature we’re reading from the experts in child and youth services who have their finger on the pulse of the field’s ongoing pandemic challenges.
The breadth of literature over the past two years of the pandemic has been truly monumental, and trying to digest it all, nearly impossible. Understanding that, we are highlighting some of the most effective and informative research we’re reading; curating noteworthy analysis, comprehensive data, and compelling findings. Below is a review of four recent studies on the status of the mental health and well-being of children and youth in the U.S. during the pandemic. And the consensus? The challenge of mending mental health care for children and youth is significant, but one that can be realized through comprehensive care, increased resources, improved education, and a focus on resilience.
A March 2022 study in JAMA Pediatrics examined children’s well-being over a five-year period from 2016-2020, including a look at the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic from 2019-2020. The researchers found there were significant increases in children’s diagnosed anxiety and depression, decreases in their physical activity, and decreases in the mental and emotional well-being and coping of their caregivers. They also found that after the start of the pandemic, there were significant increases in children’s diagnosed behavioral problems, decreases in preventive medical care visits, and growing unmet health care needs. Despite the increase in the need for mental health services, this study did not find a significant uptick in the number of children receiving mental health treatment or counseling over the past five years. The authors suggest improving children’s access to prompt mental health care and supporting families to strengthen their overall well-being could help counter the negative effects of the pandemic.
The Child Mind Institute recently released their 2021 Children’s Mental Health Report that contends that the mental health needs of children were nowhere close to being met before the pandemic—and then only declined. The biggest negative impacts of the pandemic landed on the most vulnerable populations—children and youth in poverty, those who were LGBTQ+ and/or BIPOC, and children and youth with autism, ADHD, anxiety, or depression. However, the authors were careful to highlight their resilience, arguing that many people, both young and old, reported that the distress they felt early on in the pandemic eventually evened out over time. The report argues that people have a “psychological immune system” that protects them much the same way the biological one does. Also noteworthy, the data indicated that minimizing disruptions to daily routines can do a lot to protect children’s mental health, even in incredibly stressful situations like a pandemic. The authors emphasized that while it’s crucial to devote resources to meeting the mental health needs of children and youth, even teens who said they were struggling during the pandemic felt positive about the future—a clear sign of resilience.
A 2021 review of several research studies compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation on the mental health of children and youth revealed that over 25% of high school students reported ‘worsened emotional and cognitive health’ and over 20% of parents of children ages 5-12 reported their children ‘experienced worsened mental or emotional health’ during the pandemic. The authors also emphasized that LGBTQ+ and BIPOC children and youth may be particularly at-risk of negative mental health consequences due to the pandemic. For example, in one survey of LGBTQ+ adolescent youth, 73% reported symptoms of anxiety, 67% reported symptoms of depression, and 48% said they had serious thoughts of suicide during the pandemic. Similar to the findings from the Child Mind Institute report, this study also found that prior to the pandemic, the mental health needs of children were not being met and access to mental health services worsened during the pandemic. The researchers assert that the increase in telehealth services and the federal and state funding granted during the pandemic could positively impact the mental health of children and youth in the future.
Children and youth are facing a ‘mental health state of emergency’ and a 2021 Brookings report argues for the ‘urgent need’ to improve mental health services for children and youth in the U.S. According to the report, approximately half of U.S. children with mental health diagnoses did not receive mental health care treatment in 2019, and the proportion of all mental health related emergency department visits for children and youth increased substantially in 2020. The authors suggest that the nation’s mental health crisis coupled with the pandemic have made it clear that the country must change and improve its mental health care system and services. They make a number of recommendations including that insurance companies cover more comprehensive behavioral health care and interventions for children and families, and that schools use federal relief funding to improve their mental health services, staff, and infrastructure. Ultimately the report contends that the two fundamental systems that serve children’s health and well-being—the education system and the health care system—need to work together to improve the future for today’s children and youth.
How are you managing this volatile time of unrest and contention either brought on or fueled by the pandemic? Please add your voice, your expertise, and your experiences to our Foresight Initiative survey. Thank you!