Whatever your experience of lockdown was, we can all agree it was a time like no other.
From a burgeoning sense of uncertainty to Joe Wicks doing star jumps on the telly, it really felt like you were suspended in time in this uncanny, bizarre limbo where all you could do was sit, wait, and chomp loaf after loaf of homemade banana bread while Chris Whitty flicked through PowerPoints.
Lockdown was far from simple for a lot of people — with many noting the long-term mental health impact which we will continue to feel years after the pandemic ends.
But one unexpected result is the positive impact it had on young people, as new research by Cambridge and Oxford universities has revealed.
The impact that lockdown could have on young people was an especially large concern for parents and Government ministers alike — especially since schools were closed for an extended period of time from spring 2020 to winter 2021.
‘The common narrative that the pandemic has had overwhelmingly negative effects on the lives of children and young people might not tell the full story,’ Emma Soneson, a PhD student and Gates Scholar at the Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge said in a statement.
‘In fact, it seems as though a sizeable number of children and young people may have experienced what they felt was improved wellbeing during the first national lockdown of 2020.’
Emma, along with colleagues at the two prestigious universities, investigated attitudes to lockdown through the OxWell Student Survey, ending up with responses from ver 17,000 young people aged 8 to 18.
Most notably, the survey found that one in three students felt their mental wellbeing had improved in the first lockdown.
Being away from school was the thing that seemed to have made a positive difference to most young people, as the highest proportions of students who reported improved mental wellbeing were among those who were in school every day (39%) and most days (35%).
Loneliness and young people losing out on socialising was a big concern during the pandemic. However, the study shows that nearly half of those who reported improved mental wellbeing during lockdown felt less lonely, less left out, and had better relationships with friends (41%) and family (53%).
Lockdown also seemed to be beneficial for those subject to bullyinh. In 2019, the BBC reported that a fifth of young people had been a victim of bullying that year, but in this research it was found that most who had been bullied previously said that it had reduced during the pandemic.
Those who claimed they were happier during coronavirus lockdowns experienced improved sleep, and school-related factors like smaller class sizes and focused attention from teachers were also said to have helped encourage different styles of learning.
Professor Mina Fazel from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Oxford, added: ‘While the pandemic has undoubtedly had negative consequences for many, it is important to keep in mind that this is not the case for all children and young people.
‘We are interested in how we can learn from this group and determine if some of the changes can be sustained in order to promote better mental health and wellbeing moving forward.’
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