McColl Rebecca, Nescott Erin
Associate Policy Scientist, Center for Community Research & Service, Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration, University of Delaware.
Dela J Public Health. 2024 Oct 18;10(4):62-66. doi: 10.32481/djph.2024.10.14. eCollection 2024 Oct.
In this article we examine the current state of youth mental health across the United States and in Delaware, and discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.
We review available literature detailing the short- and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on youth mental health and discuss the resultant programmatic and legislative efforts in Delaware and nationally.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a severe impact on the mental health of young people. The prevalence of depression and anxiety among children and adolescents, which was already increasing pre-pandemic, spiked after the pandemic's onset. Even as public health precautions have lifted, young people continue to struggle with mental health in conjunction with lower levels of educational achievement, hindered social development, increased screen time, diminished access to effective mental healthcare, and economic instability. The negative impact of the pandemic will continue to have ramifications on the health and wellbeing of young people for years to come.
Compiling evidence examining mental health trends is an important first step to understanding the impact of the pandemic on child and adolescent mental health and developing effective solutions.
Although the official state of emergency is over, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are far-reaching and long-lasting. It is imperative that legislators and program administrators in Delaware and nationally work to ensure that young people and their families have access to affordable, high quality mental healthcare.
在本文中，我们研究了美国及特拉华州青少年心理健康的现状，并讨论了新冠疫情对儿童和青少年心理健康及幸福的影响。
我们回顾了详述新冠疫情对青少年心理健康短期和长期影响的现有文献，并讨论了特拉华州及全国由此产生的项目和立法举措。
新冠疫情对年轻人的心理健康产生了严重影响。儿童和青少年中抑郁症和焦虑症的患病率在疫情爆发前就已呈上升趋势，疫情爆发后更是急剧上升。即使公共卫生预防措施已经解除，年轻人仍在心理健康方面挣扎，同时还面临教育成就水平降低、社交发展受阻、屏幕使用时间增加、获得有效心理治疗的机会减少以及经济不稳定等问题。疫情的负面影响在未来几年将继续对年轻人的健康和幸福产生影响。
收集有关心理健康趋势的证据是了解疫情对儿童和青少年心理健康的影响并制定有效解决方案的重要第一步。
尽管官方的紧急状态已经结束，但新冠疫情的影响是深远而持久的。特拉华州及全国的立法者和项目管理人员必须努力确保年轻人及其家庭能够获得负担得起的高质量心理治疗。
