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Not a day goes by without gloomy reports in the media about the well-being of young people during the pandemic. But how are young people really doing? In the autumn of 2019, youth researchers at Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ who were working together on the YOUth Got Talent research project questioned hundreds of first-year senior secondary vocational education (MBO) students in depth about how they were doing. They did so again in the spring of 2020, during the first lockdown, and again in the autumn of 2020 when the second wave emerged. Project leader Gonneke Stevens: 'This gave us a unique insight into the well-being of these students during the coronavirus pandemic. The percentage of students with social problems has doubled and they are also reporting significantly more hyperactivity and pressure due to schoolwork.'

The researchers collaborated with the Municipality of Utrecht on this project. Stevens and her colleagues managed to get around 400 students in senior secondary vocational education from various Utrecht educational institutions to participate in all three measurement points. Among other things, they asked them about their mental health, future prospects, social relationships and their experiences with their study programme.

A significant proportion of students indicate that they feel restless and are easily distracted

Social problems, hyperactivity and pressure due to schoolwork

Stevens refers primarily to two percentages: 11 and 21%. 'In the autumn of 2019, 11% of the young people surveyed reported social problems. This could include not having a good friend, for example. One year later, 21% of the young people said they were experiencing social problems.' The percentages for ‘hyperactivity’ jumped from 29 to 39% in a year. Stevens: 'This means that a significant proportion of students indicate that they feel restless and are easily distracted.' More and more young people are also experiencing a lot of pressure due to schoolwork during this past year. 'In the autumn of 2019, 20% of the students felt under pressure as a result of their schoolwork. This percentage rose to 37% in autumn 2020.'

Life satisfaction and concerns about the future

In the autumn of 2020, the students reported lower levels of satisfaction with their lives than in the autumn of 2019. A striking fact here is that there was no such difference in the spring of 2020. 29% of the students were also worried about their future in the autumn of 2020 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic; this percentage was 16% in the spring of 2020. And students reported a decrease in support from friends for the first time in the autumn of 2020. 'It therefore seems that young people’s well-being in the second coronavirus wave is under greater pressure than during the first wave.'

We did not observe any changes in self-confidence, emotional problems and behavioural problems.

Not just coronavirus

Stevens emphasises that it's not all doom and gloom, however. 'It depends on how you look at it. For example, if 21% of the young people say they are experiencing social problems, that means 79% of them are not experiencing these problems. What’s more, for example, we did not observe any changes in self-confidence, emotional problems and behavioural problems between the three measurement points.' The youth researcher also warns that the changes in mental health, for example, cannot be attributed solely to the pandemic. 'We cannot rule out other influences. For example, students are simply older these days, something that tends to be accompanied by a decrease in life satisfaction.'