Young people suffered from poorer wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic when one or both of their parents had lost their jobs, the State’s economic think-tank has said.
The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) on Thursday published a new report that examined the effect of the pandemic on adolescent wellbeing in Ireland.
It found that young people in families that experienced a fall in income were less likely to have the resources, such as a computer or a quiet place to study, to engage fully in home learning.
Twelve-year-olds that had a computer suitable for remote learning and a quiet place to study had better well being than their peers, the researchers found.
Income declines were also associated with a greater reduction in day-to-day activities that played a protective role in promoting wellbeing, including sports and physical exercise and seeing friends face-to-face.
However, the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) played a protective role, with better adolescent wellbeing in households receiving the payment.
The research was based on a special survey of children who partook in the Growing Up In Ireland study, and was conducted in December 2020, when schools had reopened, and restrictions were easing.
The survey was completed online by 2,947 12-year-olds and their mothers, and who had previously been surveyed when the children were nine years of age.
To assess wellbeing, the researchers used the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) measure, in which young people were asked, among other things, if they had felt downhearted or blue in recent weeks. Higher scores indicated more positive wellbeing.
Researchers said they had “expected” that the economic shock would have an indirect effect on young people because of the stress experienced by their parents.
“We found much poorer wellbeing among adolescents who reported that they always or sometimes saw their parents as being ‘worried at the moment’ and among those who argued more with their parents than previously,” the report found.
The ESRI said there were policy implications of the research. Income support provision, such as the PUP, protects child wellbeing and highlights “the importance of wider anti-poverty measures for child and adolescent development”.
“The findings also suggest the need for ongoing support for more disadvantaged young people to overcome pandemic-related disruption to their learning and to counter potentially longer-reaching setbacks to their emotional wellbeing,” the think-tank added.
