Photo Credit: Marco Torrazzina |
The well-being and mental health of young people in low - and middle - income countries have been dramatically affected by the series of crises hitting the world.
As the international community continues to struggle with the impact of COVID-19, conflict and climate change, the latest report from the Young Lives project shows a long-running upward trend in young people’s well-being has been sharply reversed alongside widespread anxiety and depression. Young people are less confident about their futures for the first time in their 20-year study.
Before the pandemic, there had been a steady but notable upward trend in young people’s sense of well-being across all four countries in the Young Lives study - Peru, Vietnam, India and Ethiopia. But new data from the most recent survey, collected during the pandemic, shows young people reported a significant decline in well-being - and high levels of anxiety and depression.
New data shows young people reported a significant decline in well-being - and high levels of anxiety and depression...at a critical period in [young] lives - because long-term mental health issues often begin in adolescence and early adulthood