The Prince’s Trust have published their latest report, young people in lockdown. The report explores the views of 1,022 16-25 year olds on their wellbeing, anxiety levels and how they are feeling about their prospects. You can download the full report here.
Key findings
The report found
- 29% of young people feel their future career prospects have already been damaged by the coronavirus pandemic
- 46% say that finding a job now feels “impossible”
- 49% worry it will be harder than ever to get a job
- 33% feel that everything they have worked for is now “going to waste”
Panic and anxiety
An “alarming proportion” of young people are experiencing feelings of panic and anxiety:
- 43% say their anxiety has increased during the pandemic
- 32% experience feelings of overwhelming panic and anxiety on a daily basis
- 47% do not feel in control of their lives
- 69% feel as if their life is on hold
NEET young people (those not in education, employment or training) are more likely to feel down
- 58% ‘always’ or ‘often’ had feelings of depression, a 5% increase during the pandemic.
- 65% do not feel in control of their lives
Hope for the future
More positively, young people remain hopeful and display resilience:
- 52% ‘always’ or ‘often’ feel optimistic
- 52% believe this will make their generation stronger
Our reflections
Before the pandemic, there was already a huge gap between young people and access to support. Over 1/4 of young people referred for treatment were rejected for mental health services. These services operate on strained funding and resources that will be further stretched by the Covid-19 crisis.
To bridge this gap and respond to young peoples concerns surrounding their mental health during the crises, the Government needs to recognise mental health as one of the barriers young people face in their education and work, increase funding and support to mental health services and endorse mental health awareness and support as best employer practice.
As schools and work places slowly move towards reopening, it is particularly important that education and training providers, as well as employers, recognise that some will be returning with an increased level of anxiety. It is important we don’t rush back to business as usual and take time to adjust -this may look like additional support in the ‘transitioning back to’ phase or positivity and engagement activities, and clear signposting to mental health advice and services.
Whilst we are set to face of another recession, we have a chance to address the underlying issues in this country; we have an opportunity to create a better future for young people that is more understanding, inclusive and supportive. Let this not be a missed opportunity to invest in all of our futures, nor a repeat of too-soon austerity measures seen after the last recession.
