Mental health among young people during COVID-19: an intersectional perspective

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the mental health of young people in the United Kingdom, intensifying existing challenges and exposing gaps in support systems. While concerns about rising psychological distress were evident prior to the pandemic, the disruption to education, employment, and social life exacerbated vulnerabilities for many.

This research adopted a mixed methods design to explore both population-level trends and lived experiences of young people’s mental health during and after the pandemic. The qualitative component involved 26 young people aged 16–24 in Sheffield participating in semi-structured interviews and a focus group. Reflexive thematic analysis developed a set of themes that illustrated pandemic-related disruptions to education, employment, and social life exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and inequalities, while also generating feelings of isolation, uncertainty, and anxiety. Young people described varied coping strategies and differential access to support, shaped by their personal circumstances.

The quantitative component analysed data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), specifically Waves 7 and 13. Mental health was measured using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) for adolescents and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) for young adults. Multilevel Analysis of Individual Heterogeneity and Discriminatory Accuracy (MAIHDA) was used to examine how mental health outcomes varied across dimensions of sex, ethnicity, household income, and urbanicity. MAIHDA facilitated the exploration of how combinations of these social factors intersect to produce differing risks for poor mental health.

By integrating qualitative insights with longitudinal quantitative data, this thesis offers a comprehensive account of the pandemic’s impact on young people, while illustrating the potential of advanced intersectional approaches like MAIHDA in mental health research. The findings highlight the need for improved mental health services and policies that address the compounded effects of social disadvantage and the challenges intensified by the pandemic.