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Four out of every ten young people between the ages of 16 and 24 are in a vulnerable situation. They feel the effects of the coronavirus crisis more deeply and report psychological complaints, such as anxiety and depression, more often than non-vulnerable young people. These are the outcomes of a research project set up by Odilia Laceulle, a developmental psychologist at Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ. Laceulle’s project was part of the launched by the Dutch Research Agenda (NWA) last year. On Friday 30 April, a small delegation presented the outcomes of the projects in the form of a to outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

Nearly a year ago, Rutte used a press conference to urge young people to take an active interest in the future of the country during and after the coronavirus crisis. The NWA, an initiative of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), seized on this call and organised a challenge for young people that wanted to respond to it. This led to young people submitting all kinds of research questions. The NWA selected five of these questions and paired them with scientists who went in search of an answer.

COVID-19 fund

One of the five selected questions was: What is the impact of the coronavirus on vulnerable young people? The NWA asked Laceulle to investigate this question. Laceulle: ‘Using money from the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences’ COVID-19 fund, we had already started similar research. By joining the NWA youth challenge, we were able to set up the research on an even larger scale.’

They tended to miss important milestones that are characteristic of that period in life, such as dealing with intimacy and sexuality.

Missing milestones

In the course of this research project, Laceulle arrived at surprising results. ‘One of them was the large number of young people who said they were in a vulnerable situation. This was not because they experienced physical or psychological problems themselves, but because they lived with vulnerable housemates. Because they were more exposed than other young people to the possible consequences of the coronavirus, they were conscientious about complying with the coronavirus measures. At the same time, they felt they had a harder time of it than other young people. They experienced more emotional problems, such as anxiety and depression. They also tended to miss important milestones that are characteristic of that period in life, such as making your own decisions, learning to manage money, dealing with intimacy and sexuality or missing out on a part-time job. We should be paying much more attention to this large group of young people.’

Another UU contribution

In addition to Laceulle, four other top scientists and their research teams worked with young people to formulate answers to the questions submitted by young people about the coronavirus crisis. One project was led by Beatrice de Graaf, Distinguished Professor of the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences and historian at Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ. Based on their experience, the researchers jointly drew up a manifesto for policymakers, scientists and administrators on the subject of young people and the coronavirus. Prime Minister Rutte received the manifesto on 30 April.

 Laceulle’s research project was conducted by Laceulle herself, Sander Thomaes, Hilde Schuiringa and Leanne van Est.