[Note: Below is an excerpt from an article in the most recent issue of the journal Children & Schools, co-published by NASW and Oxford University Press. The article was written by Sara Schjølberg Marques, MSc, assistant clinical psychologist, and Ruth Braidwood, DClinPsy, clinical psychologist, at DISCOVER Workshop Programmes in London. This article is free to be read on the Oxford University Press website.]
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The psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to be significant and sustained. Worldwide, families are being directly affected by the virus through personal experience of illness or grief and indirectly affected through disrupted social relations and education, economic impacts, and wider societal effects.… The priorities for researching the impact of COVID-19 on mental health have been set out and include assessing the impact of the lockdown and social isolation on the mental health of vulnerable people and how these impacts can be reduced.…
Given that mental health difficulties are most likely to develop during adolescence […], it is critically important to explore the impact of the pandemic and lockdown period on the mental health of young people. Although the potential stress, anxiety, and isolation of a lockdown might be short-lived for some, for other young people, the effect on well-being will be severe and longer lasting, especially for those who experience adversity or already exhibit difficulties with managing their mental health. …
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To read the whole article, please follow this link.
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The journal Social Work is a benefit of NASW membership. It is available online or, at a member’s request, in print. Children & Schools, Health & Social Work and Social Work Research are available by subscription at a discounted rate for NASW members, either online or in print. You can find out more about the journals and subscriptions at this link.
