Abstract

I will present findings from two large-scale (>30,000 participants) research studies that have been examining mental health in young people and adults across the UK during the pandemic. We show that around 50% of participants report experiencing a perceived worsening in their mental health from before to after the beginning of the pandemic. However, in a subsample (n=12,000) of participants with pre-pandemic mental health data, we observe no meaningful overall changes in symptoms of anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder. Perceived changes in the absence of symptom change may indicate a high degree of psychological distress. We also examined individual differences in risk of symptom change, finding that people with pre-existing mental health diagnoses, females, young people and those who are students or who are unemployed were at greatest risk for worsening symptoms. 

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Dr Katherine Young PhD, Lecturer at King's College, London; MQ Fellow.