This large school-based study showed that one-third of students reported an improvement in their mental wellbeing during the first UK Covid-19 lockdown, representing a similar proportion to those who reported no change or deterioration to their wellbeing. For many of the reference variables studied (i.e. those that asked about general experiences versus lockdown-specific changes), students who reported improvement were quite similar to their peers who reported no change, and both groups fared better than those who reported deterioration. However, for the variables that measured self-reported changes during lockdown, CYP who reported improved mental wellbeing were more likely than their peers to report improvement across the full range of school, relational, and lifestyle factors studied.
This study adds to a growing evidence base that suggests that the impact of lockdown is dependent on a number of factors (e.g. gender, pre-pandemic mental health, social relationships, school connectedness, experience of online learning, family composition, and family financial situation [4, 5, 7,8,9, 11]) and that there are many CYP who report experiencing better mental health and wellbeing during this time [8, 9, 11]. Whilst our estimate that one in three CYP experienced improved mental wellbeing during lockdown is higher than estimates from other studies, it is difficult to directly compare due to different sampling techniques and outcome measures, as well as variability in the nature of and response to the pandemic across geographical and chronological contexts. One of the most similar studies in terms of pandemic context is the English National Survey [1], which was conducted during the same timeframe as our survey. The estimate from this study, that 27% of 11–16-year-olds said that lockdown had made their lives better, is fairly comparable to our own. A Canadian study conducted around the same time (during ‘national emergency measures’ including school closures) had a slightly lower estimate, with around 20% of CYP experiencing an improvement in at least one domain of mental health.
The patterns in changes in mental wellbeing by school attendance during lockdown are interesting. Various aspects of the school environment, including bullying [28, 29], academic stress [30,31,32], and poor relationships with teachers [33], are linked to poor mental health. It would, therefore, be reasonable to expect that being away from the school environment could be beneficial for certain students [18]. However, we found that those attending school ‘most days’ or ‘every day’ (though they made up a small percentage of the total sample) had a higher proportion of students who reported improved mental wellbeing compared with those attending irregularly. Interpreting these findings requires nuance, however, and our findings cannot determine whether school attendance was driving changes in mental wellbeing. As described in the Methods section, at the time of the survey, only certain students were eligible for in-school provision. Additionally, an analysis of secondary school students from the OxWell Survey demonstrated that contextual and background factors, such as previous access to mental health support, may explain the relationship between school attendance and change in mental wellbeing [19]. For those in school, the experience was likely substantially different, influenced by the demographic and environmental school context. Some would have had their same teachers in smaller class sizes whilst others might have experienced blended lessons with other students whom they might never have learned with before. Some would have had none of their friendship group with them at school, whilst others might have been able to be with friends and/or away from more difficult interpersonal relationships. Discussions with stakeholders (including CYP, parents, and teachers) suggest that this altered provision may well have been a positive experience, with potential for greater attention from teachers, more tailored learning, and increased focus on wellbeing.
This study also highlights the importance of relationships. The potential for increased social isolation during the pandemic is concerning, particularly for young people, for whom peer interactions are especially important [34, 35]. Widnall and colleagues [8] reported during the first UK lockdown that 42% of girls and 27% of boys worried about the impact of lockdown on friendships. Concerns about friendships were also common in young people's qualitative accounts of the pandemic, with many citing disruptions to their social networks and feelings of loneliness and isolation [12, 13, 15, 16]. Yet, nearly half of those who reported improved mental wellbeing in our sample reported feeling less left out and lonely and having better relationships with friends and family. There are a number of reasons why this may be. As Orben and colleagues [34] have suggested, most CYP have access to digital forms of social interaction that can mitigate the negative effects of reduced face-to-face contact. This is also reflected in Widnall and colleagues’ [8] finding that peer connectedness remained largely stable during the pandemic. With many parents and carers at home, there was also potential for improved family relationships, a fact empirically demonstrated in Penner and colleagues’ [9] finding that better family functioning was associated with better mental health during the first period of ‘stay at home’ orders and school closures in the United States.
One specific aspect of peer relationships that changed during the pandemic was bullying. To our knowledge, this is the first study to quantify the relationship between change in bullying and change in mental wellbeing during lockdown. At the start of the pandemic, some experts were worried that bullying, and cyberbullying in particular, could increase [32, 36]. Others believed that CYP who experience bullying at school would fare better during the lockdown due to increased control over social interactions and greater ability to focus on academic study [18]. In terms of empirical evidence, Silk and colleagues [15] found that around half of the nearly 100 adolescent girls in their diary-based study listed the ability to avoid unwanted interactions with classmates as a positive impact of the pandemic. We found that most CYP who had been bullied in the past year reported that the bullying had reduced, and given the well-established links between bullying and mental health [37], it was unsurprising that reductions were most prevalent amongst those who reported improved mental wellbeing.
For approximately half of the CYP who reported improved mental wellbeing, lockdown was associated with improvements in sleep and exercise. Sleep is crucial for CYP’s mental health and wellbeing [38], and it was not initially clear how the pandemic would affect sleep [32]. In their study of sleep during Singapore’s national lockdown in April–June 2020 (which included school closures), Lim and colleagues [39] found that, on average, CYP got more sleep during this time, and Silk and colleagues [15] found that 87% of the girls in their study reported increased sleep as a positive impact of the pandemic. These findings support discussions as to whether typical school start times are optimal for CYP’s sleep. In examining the role of exercise, a more complicated picture emerged. Whilst CYP were encouraged to continue exercising during the pandemic, lockdown restrictions often limited opportunities for outdoor and group exercise. Interestingly, in Silk and colleagues’ [15] diary study, three-quarters of the girls reported having more time to exercise or go outdoors. In our survey, whilst more CYP who reported improved mental wellbeing reported doing more exercise, there was a bimodal distribution, with as many reporting doing more exercise as doing less.
This study also highlighted the aspects of school return that students most looked forward to and those that they worried about most. The most anticipated aspect of school return was seeing friends again, whilst other positive aspects included seeing classmates and peers and participating in sports and other activities, all of which highlight the central role of peer interaction in CYP’s lives [34]. This finding resonates with a key theme from Fisher and colleagues’ [12] qualitative interviews, namely that the majority of young people were looking forward to going back to school and seeing their friends after the first UK lockdown. Conversely, the aspects causing the most concern were primarily related to school systems, including lessons and schoolwork. This reflects findings from other studies that school and academic concerns including disrupted learning and uncertainty about upcoming examinations were common amongst CYP during lockdown [8, 12, 15, 16]. For some CYP, lockdown will have meant a reduction in academic stress or a more flexible learning system that better suited their needs, each of which may contribute to improved mental health and wellbeing.
Limitations
We acknowledge six main limitations. First, whilst our sample is large and diverse, it may not be representative of the general UK population, and we did not conduct a weighted analysis to account for potential differences between our sample and the population. For example, participants were from the south of England, which is relatively affluent compared with other areas of the country. Additionally, most students had to complete the survey from home, which could exclude students without the necessary resources (a computer, internet) or other vulnerable students (e.g. those who do not have a safe home environment). Second, due to the repeated cross-sectional design of the survey, we do not have (individually linkable) pre-pandemic data to indicate objective change in mental wellbeing or in any of our other variables of interest. Third, our validated measure of wellbeing (the WEMWBS) was slightly modified in the OxWell survey to be answered on a sliding scale, which potentially could have altered its psychometric properties. Fourth, there are several relevant variables missing from our data. Due to the ethical requirements associated with obtaining opt-out consent, we were not able to collect information on students’ ethnicity or include gender options beyond male/female. In the stakeholder questionnaire, parents and CYP also identified a number of potentially relevant variables that were not available in the OxWell survey data, including factors related to school systems (e.g. flexible learning, autonomy over school work, class sizes) and neurodiversity (e.g. autism, sensory needs). These are key variables that warrant further study, ideally using mixed methods that include qualitative interviews. Fifth, we collected data only during the first lockdown; anecdotal experience from CYP, families, and school staff members indicates that this lockdown was qualitatively different from the others, but we were not able to explore this. Finally, we primarily aimed to explore the characteristics of those reporting better wellbeing during lockdown and describe their feelings and behaviours rather than model the relative contribution of these factors to their reported wellbeing. There are likely to be complex inter-relationships between the factors we measured and whether a pupil had improved wellbeing during lockdown, which would benefit from further exploration.
Lessons learned and consequences for the future
This study provides insight into individual and environmental factors that may support CYP to thrive in the context of school disruption and adversity. First, considering educational differences, there were increased opportunities during lockdown for flexible and tailored teaching that encouraged different styles of learning and student autonomy over schedule and schoolwork [12, 14, 15, 18]. For those in school, smaller class sizes and more focused attention from teachers might have had a positive impact to wellbeing, whilst later wake times [32, 39] and more freedom during the school day [15, 18] might have benefitted students at home. For some, there was more focus on sport, play, and the creative arts [12, 14, 15], which may have contributed to wellbeing, although it is likely that this was more accessible for only a minority of students. For certain students, there may also have been fewer ‘typical school day’ distractions (e.g. negative comparisons with other students, school-based anxiety, sensory challenges, concerns about disciplinary action, and uniform requirements [8, 18]). Finally, there was a greater emphasis in both schools and wider society on maintaining wellbeing [40, 41].
Second, interpersonal relationships during the pandemic were altered. Some CYP experienced improvements in relationships with family and friends [9, 14,15,16], often facilitated by social media and other digital platforms [8, 12, 16, 42]. CYP who were in school during this time may have had the opportunity to make new friendships, whilst others experienced a respite from negative relationships [15, 18, 19]. All groups in this study reported less bullying during lockdown, potentially reflecting better opportunities to control their exposures to peers who might have been targeting them in the classroom or during unstructured times in the school day (e.g. on the journey to/from school or in break times).
Taken together, these findings challenge the dominant narrative that the pandemic and accompanying lockdown measures have had overwhelmingly adverse effects on the lives of CYP. Determining the reasons why some CYP felt they fared better during lockdown and considering how these beneficial experiences can be maintained beyond the pandemic might provide valuable insights into mental health and wellbeing not only for these students, but for the millions of young people being educated during the Covid-19 pandemic. Based on our findings, a dual emphasis at school on both achievement and building interpersonal relationships seems essential. Furthermore, additional flexibility on certain aspects of school structure and expectations might better support CYP’s mental health and wellbeing. Importantly, the responsibility to conceptualise and implement any needed changes cannot fall only on individual schools or educators, but instead must be part of a systemic shift including all those working with school-aged CYP and their families.
In summary, CYP have had diverse experiences of the pandemic, influenced by a multitude of interacting individual-, family-, and community-level risk and protective factors. The negative impacts to the lives of many affected by illness, socioeconomic stressors, and disruptions to family and community life cannot be ignored. However, some CYP have experienced positive changes during the pandemic, which necessitate further examination, exploration, and reflection.