Middle-class children suffered worst in Covid, study suggests

Children from middle-class families were hardest hit by the pandemic and suffered the steepest mental decline that could further damage their education, new research shows.

Those whose parents worked, stayed together and were highly educated experienced greater declines in mental health than their less affluent peers.

Experts speculate that families forced to juggle work and homeschooling suffered the most mental stress, while government support for disadvantaged households proved effective.

The result is that the gap between the mental health of poorer and richer children has narrowed according to the findings, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

It warned that the consequences could be long-lasting, as poor mental health is known to affect children’s ability to pursue an education.

Researchers from the University of Glasgow looked at data from 9,272 children as part of the UK Household Longitudinal Study.

Youth mental health was reported by parents between 2011 and 2019 using a standardized questionnaire when children were between five and eight years old.

Mental health details were also recorded when they were aged between five and 11 in July 2020, September 2020 and March 2021 – all during the pandemic.

The results showed that wealthier children experienced greater declines in their mental health during the pandemic than more disadvantaged children, who tended to have lower mental health to begin with.

For example, the average difference in children’s scores between those whose parents were unemployed compared to those whose parents worked was 2.35 points before the pandemic, but fell to 0.02 points during the pandemic. This means that inequalities have become smaller.

The authors wrote: ‘Unexpectedly, children from traditionally advantaged groups in many cases saw greater declines than children from disadvantaged groups – that is, children’s mental health has become more equal, but at a poorer overall level.

‘We speculate that social isolation and reduced access to services during the Covid-19 pandemic have brought the experiences of traditionally advantaged groups closer to the experiences of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and/or that emergency income support measures during the pandemic may have addressed the problems relaxed. economic burden on disadvantaged families.’

The findings contrast sharply with many child health experts who argue that the financial and emotional burden of lockdowns would hit hardest children whose parents have unstable jobs, live in crowded housing and have less access to outdoor space and educational resources .

They suggest that the added pressures faced by some working parents, who had to balance childcare and paid work during the pandemic, may have contributed to the poorer mental health of children with working parents during the pandemic.

Calling for more help for the mental health of all children, he added: ‘This strain, which has been linked to parents’ stress levels, could plausibly have been greatest for families with working parents who had to juggle childcare with their paid work.

‘In addition, the intense pressures and increased risk of Covid infection faced by essential (key) workers during this period may have put further pressure on some families with working parents.’