Report reveals young people felt less anxious and more connected to school in lockdown

Younger teenagers in the South West of England felt less anxious and more connected to school when they were away from it during the COVID-19 global pandemic public lockdown, a first-of-its-kind study has found. The striking results of research led by the University of Bristol are published today by the National Institute for Health Research School for Public Health Research (NIHR SPHR) in a report which raises questions about the impact of the school environment on young people's mental health and calls for more support to help them when they return to the classroom. "While we saw anxiety levels rise for a few of our participants, it was a big surprise to discover quite the opposite was the case for many of them. Of particular interest, those students who felt least connected to school before the lockdown saw a larger decrease in anxiety which raises questions about how the school environment affects some younger teenagers' mental well-being." Depression levels remained fairly consistent over time, with a 2 per cent decrease of boys at risk of depression and a 3 per cent increase in girls at risk of depression. "This was again unexpected and arguably shows the resilience of young people and their ability to adapt to challenging situations," Widnall said. "Amidst other headlines highlighting concerns about young people's mental health being negatively affected, this is in one sense very welcome news, but at the same time it raises interesting questions about what the key drivers and triggers of anxiety or depression are for this particular age group." Many students' sense of well-being also improved during lockdown, with boys showing a bigger improvement than girls.