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PTSD: Mental health in the COVID-19 pandemic

02 February 2022
Volume 3 | British Journal of Child health · Issue 1

Abstract

While it is still unclear how many young people have suffered mental health problems as a result of the pandemic, data from previous disasters suggests that many will have been affected in some way, with some also suffering post-traumatic stress disorder as a result.

The past 2 years have been traumatic. COVID-19 has affected us all far more extensively than we could have imagined before the pandemic hit. It has had a general negative effect on mental health in both adults (Office for National Statistics, 2021) and teenagers (Ford et al, 2021; Hawes et al, 2021).

The negative impact of the pandemic on the mental health of young people is not surprising. It was anticipated by experts (Douglas et al, 2009; Fegert et al, 2020; John, 2020). Even in normal times, adolescence is a particularly vulnerable period of life, for many reasons (Larsen and Luma, 2018). The pandemic has presented many new challenges to this age group, from the disruption of everyday life and education, the social dislocation of lockdowns, to the long-term fears and uncertainties about the future (exacerbated by the contemporaneous escalation of the climate change crisis).

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