POORER children and young people’s mental health was much harder hit by lockdown than their wealthier counterparts, new research has found.

The ‘chasm’ between families’ experiences has been revealed in a survey of more than 11,500 parents by Oxford University throughout the pandemic so far.

Parents and carers of children aged four to 11 reported over a one-month lockdown period they saw increases in their child’s emotional difficulties, such as feeling unhappy, worried, being clingy and experiencing physical symptoms associated with worry.

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The Co-Space study also found parents and carers reported behaviour problems such as temper tantrums, arguments and children not doing what they are asked.

They also said their children were also more fidgety and restless and had greater difficulty paying attention.

For low income homes these emotional and attention difficulties were ‘consistently elevated’ compared to those from higher income households, with approximately two and a half times as many of these children experiencing ‘significant’ problems.

Oxford Mail:

Andy Bell, deputy chief executive at the Centre for Mental Health, said the pandemic and lockdown have already had a ‘significant impact’ on children’s mental health, adding: “Every family and every child’s experiences are unique to them, but this and other research points to a worrying rise in distress overall, and a chasm between the most and the least deprived children and families.

“There is compelling evidence that poverty and inequality are toxic to children’s mental health. Sadly the pandemic has reinforced that divide. We must now see action at every level to close the gap and support children through the emotional challenges of this year.”

Other findings were that children and young people from single and multiple adult households were generally found to have similar levels of emotional, behavioural and restless/attention difficulties.

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However, when looked at on their own, primary school aged children from single adult households were reported as having more emotional difficulties.

Cathy Creswell, Professor of Developmental Clinical Psychology at Oxford University, and co-leading the study, said: “These findings highlight not only the huge variation in how children and young people have been coping throughout the pandemic but also how pre-existing vulnerabilities associated with inequality have continued during the crisis.

"It is crucial that we continue to build understanding of who has been most impacted by this challenging situation so that effective action can be taken."

The survey is still open and parents can continue to share their experiences, researchers keen to capture the transition as schools reopen to track mental health throughout the Covid-19 crisis.

Visit cospaceoxford.com/survey for more information.