The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of young people: A comparison between China and the United Kingdom

Abstract

s Purpose As COVID-19 spreads globally and affects people's health, there are concerns that the pandemic and control policies may have psychological effects on young people (age from 17 to 35 years). This psychological impact might vary in different countries, and thus we compared the prevalence of self-reported psychological distress, loneliness and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) among young people in the United Kingdom (UK) and China at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Data of this study came from two sources. One source was the first wave of COVID-19 study in Understanding Society, a special wave of the UK household longitudinal study, which provided the high-quality, national-wide representative panel data. The sample comprised 1054 young people. The other source was an online survey on the mental health of 1003 young people from Shanghai, a highly developed area in China. The questionnaire included questions on the prevalence of common mental disorders (cut-off score ≥ 4), loneliness and potential PTSS (cut-off ≥ 33). Univariable analyses were conducted to test the differences in the self-reported prevalence of psychological distress and loneliness between the two groups. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were run to explore the predictors of psychological distress and loneliness among all the young people from England and Shanghai. Results Among the samples with self-reported psychological distress, the UK sample accounted for 34.4% ( n =1054) and the Chinese sample accounted for 14.1% ( n =1003). The difference between the two groups was statistically significant ( p < 0.001). Additionally, 57.1% of people in the UK and 46.7% in China reported that they sometimes or often felt lonely, of which the difference is statistically significant ( p < 0.001). Regression analysis of the entire samples showed that nationality, gender, psychotherapy and loneliness were significant predictors of 12-item General Health Questionnaire scores, while the variables of age and living alone were not. Significant predictors of self-reported loneliness were the nationality, gender, age, living alone and psychotherapy. In China, 123 (12.3%) young people, 49 men (11.3%) and 74 women (13.0%), met the criteria of PTSS symptoms (cut-off scores ≥ 33). These scores were only collected in China. Conclusion This evidence suggests that mental health and loneliness reported by young people were lower in China than that in the UK during the studied period. More research is needed to understand these differences. If the differential negative psychological impacts are confirmed, country-specific measures of prevention and intervention should be adopted to improve the mental health of young people under the ongoing impact of the pandemic.

Impacts of Stress and Risk Perception on Mental Health of College Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Coping Efficacy

“…The results were consistent with those of the related study by Xin et al (8). In addition, the result was partially consistent with another study, which showed mental health and loneliness reported by young people were lower in China than that in the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic (14). On the one hand, this might be the case because the Chinese Spring Festival and winter vacation played a double-buffering role during the outbreak of COVID-19 in China.…”

“…On the other hand, when facing major public health events, the public's mental health is directly related to their stress and risk perception, but most of the above studies mainly measured anxiety or depression. Therefore, future research should use more comprehensive measures of mental health and explore the causes and determinants of individual mental health during the pandemic (12)(13)(14)(15).…”

“…The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) is composed of 12 items and is considered to be the best mental health measurement tool, which is considered to have good reliability and validity (14,27,28). Likert 5-point scoring was used.…”

Male Sexual Health and Sexual Behaviors during the First National COVID-19 Lockdown in a Western Country: A Real-Life, Web-Based Study

“…Once again, it is likely that people look for a coping mechanism to reduce anxiety and likely depression symptoms [22] either by pornography and masturbation during lockdown or by casual or paid sex during the post-lockdown phase. However, to some extent, it can also be hypothesized that this lust for sex may reach, in some subjects, the traits of hypersexual behavior characterized by compulsivity and obsession towards sex [79,80] in spite of the potential risks to one's own health; since hypersexuality is a known reaction to trauma [81], this finding would be in agreement with the assumption of COVID-19 as a traumatic event [9][10][11]. Overall, these findings would also explain the return to pre-lockdown levels for queries pertaining to casual or paid sex or for search volume for proerectile treatments following the end of restriction measures.…”

“…At the same time, strict lockdown carries high economical costs, with temporary shutdown of many activities and selected work categories being put indefinitely on hold or with citizens being forced to work remotely with difficulties in the family management [8]. Without a shade of doubt, the COVID-19 pandemic and the related containment measures have been identified as traumatic events [9][10][11] that contributed to generate anxiety and stress, conditions having a well-known, negative effect on overall health and well-being [12], and possibly associated with worse outcomes in terms of obesity, cognition, cardiovascular disease, and cancer [13][14][15].…”