By Pauletter Cha, Public Policy Institute of California, March 4, 2021
Teen mental health is a major public health concern that has become even more pressing during the COVID-19 crisis. Among the many links the pandemic has illuminated is the role of schools and mental health care for teens. After schools closed in March 2020, disagreements arose and continued between teachers’ unions and government leaders, while federal and state guidance around COVID-19 evolved. As a result, many middle and high schools have been closed for much of the past year.
The pandemic and school closures greatly reduced teens’ interactions outside of their families. While parents may be frustrated by having children at home all day, adolescents are equally frustrated at having to limit their social lives. Adolescence is a developmental stage when teens need to establish separate identities from their parents. This is difficult during the pandemic, when they spend most of their time with family and in-person interactions with friends and trusted adults like teachers and counselors are limited. Moreover, school has been replaced by distance learning, which provides fewer hours of learning and is widening gaps for low-income students and those of color.
Before the public health crisis, teen mental health in California had been declining, and things may be even worse now. A youth-led organization’s informal mental health survey of adolescents found that during the pandemic, unhealthy home environments, money worries, COVID-19 risk, and working essential jobs were among the stressors affecting youth mental health.
Comments (1)