Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the prevalence of emotional issues in adolescents - particularly anxiety disorders - was increasing, and the lockdown and its associated disruptions have likely made this worse. Educational disruption, job or university uncertainty may be particularly anxiety-inducing for older adolescents, and the pandemic has coincided with rising rates of such issues.

Meg Attwood, a PhD researcher at the University of Bristol’s School of Psychological Science, and her supervisor Professor Chris Jarrold looked at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both the psychological wellbeing and the cognitive function of older school-aged adolescents, funded by grants from the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute. The funding was used to increase the scope of their work - and increase its impact at the same time.

Three studies, the first in June 2020, one in September 2020 and a final study in February 2021, recruited young people for online surveys about their subjective pandemic-related experiences and cognitive function. Some of these volunteers then participated in follow-up studies designed to objectively assess their cognitive performance.

Read the full news item by the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute