In the Young after corona report, Stevens and her colleagues write that a full recovery of mental health in 2022 was unlikely, given the sharp increase in mental health problems between 2017 and 2021. However, according to the Utrecht-based researcher, it is striking that the percentage of young people with mental health problems in 2022 was not lower than in 2021 for any of the indicators. “This means that the level of mental health problems in 2022 was still very high, particularly among girls in secondary education. In 2022, almost half of them reported hyperactivity/attention problems or emotional problems.”

Pressure from schoolwork, Ukraine and the climate crisis

As a possible explanation for the high level of mental health problems, the researchers point out that in 2022 young people still experienced considerable pressure from schoolwork. In addition, in 2022, as in 2021, girls in secondary education were less positive about their social relationships with parents, friends, classmates and teachers than they were in 2017. Finally, societal developments such as the war in Ukraine and the climate and energy crisis may have had a negative impact on the mental health of young people in the Netherlands.

Social media use increased substantially

The percentage of young people who use social media intensively increased substantially between 2021 and 2022. Stevens: “We see this increase among both boys and girls, in primary and secondary education.” There may be a TikTok effect: its use in the Netherlands increased sharply between 2021 and 2022. On average, intensive social media use is not associated with mental health problems, meaning that this increase in social media use is unlikely to directly lead to an increase in mental health problems. Nevertheless, Stevens is not reassured by this development: “For some young people, an increase in intensive social media use leads to an increase in problematic social media use in the longer term, and consequently to an increase in mental health problems.”

HAVO students

Interestingly, the researchers conclude in the report that many trends between 2021 and 2022 were less favorable for HAVO students than for students in the other educational levels. For example, between 2021 and 2022, the percentage of HAVO students who enjoy school and feel positive about their relationships with teachers and parents decreased. During this period, the percentage of HAVO students experiencing problems with peers also increased. For students in VWO and VMBO, nothing changed in these areas during the same period.

National Education Programme

In 2021, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science made 5 billion euros available to schools to address the negative consequences of the coronavirus crisis among their students. Stevens and her colleagues therefore examined the extent to which the use of these funds was associated with changes in mental health problems, pressure from schoolwork and relationships with classmates and teachers (between 2021 and 2022). This association was found for the indicator ‘problems with peers’, such as being bullied or not being liked by other young people. “In primary and secondary schools that placed a strong emphasis on the social-emotional development of their students during the 2021–2022 school year, there was a more positive trend in problems with peers than in schools that placed less emphasis on this.”

The ‘Young after corona’ study was conducted in autumn 2022 and focused on students in group 8 of primary education and students aged 12 to 16 in secondary education. The results were compared with those of the HBSC study, which is conducted every four years. In addition, national data on the well-being of students in groups 6 and 7 were collected for the first time.

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