'We are unlikely to return to the same world, and I do not want it to destroy my future.' Young people's worries through the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic

Ragnhild Bjørknes; Gro Mjeldheim Sandal; Silje Mæland; Ellen Haug; Stine Lehmann

doi:10.1111/cfs.12878

'We are unlikely to return to the same world, and I do not want it to destroy my future.' Young people's worries through the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic

Child Fam Soc Work. 2022 May;27(2):246-253. doi: 10.1111/cfs.12878. Epub 2021 Oct 10.

Authors

Ragnhild Bjørknes¹, Gro Mjeldheim Sandal², Silje Mæland^{3

4}, Ellen Haug^{1

5}, Stine Lehmann¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Promotion and Development, Faculty of Psychology The University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
² Department of Psychosocial Science, Faculty of Psychology The University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
³ Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine The University of Bergen Bergen Norway.
⁴ Research Unit for General Practice in Bergen The Norwegian Research Center, NORCE Bergen Norway.
⁵ Department of Education NLA University College Bergen Norway.

Abstract

This study aims to explore what worries youth were having during the seventh to ninth week of the COVID-19 lockdown. Our findings build on the responses to an open-ended survey question from 1314 youths. The worries covered three main themes: 'That my mom dies, then I am left all alone': worries related to COVID-19 virus infection; 'To me, this is lost youth': worries about the consequences of measures for the present life and near future; and 'I will face a very difficult life in the future': worries about the consequences of measures for the outlook on life. Young people worried that the measures would have a huge impact on their present life and outlook on life. The costs of restriction measures were unevenly distributed and indicated that the measures affected their mental health. Listening to youth voices during the pandemic is important for practitioners, educators and policymakers. The results indicate that the threshold for closing schools also including the provision of distance learning should be kept high. Social and health services for youth should offer early intervention and be prepared for an escalation in mental health problems in the imminent future.

Keywords: COVID‐19; lost youth; mental health; outlook in life; worries; youth.