Teen back-to-school mental health study launched

Oxford University is launching a new phase of its Oxford ARC study to understand how certain aspects of the school experience is helping or harming young people’s mental health during the transition back to school and into the ‘new normal’.

The first stage of the research, launched in May, found that during lockdown, teenagers were struggling with mental health compared to their parents. It found that teenagers consistently report higher levels of anxiety and depression than parents. Around 35% of teenagers are saying they feel lonely often or most of the time, compared to 17% of parents. At the same time, about 40% of parents say they never feel lonely, compared to only 20% of teenagers. Since May, teenagers consistently reported that they felt unable to control the important things in life, with rates as high as 60% last month.

The Oxford ARC study (Achieving Resilience during COVID-19) will investigate what helps and what hinders psychological resilience in young people during the transition back to school.

A staggering 75% of mental health conditions present themselves during this key phase in child development. Despite this, only a minority of research funding goes towards understanding mental health during adolescence. Most disconcertingly, young people report feeling left out of the COVID-19 conversation.

In the Oxford ARC study, teenagers have their say by being a fundamental part of the research. There are over 1000 teenagers and their parents participating in the study so far, but we need many more to get the best picture of how to promote resilience and optimal wellbeing in young people. The results will provide vital information that can help us better respond to the mental health needs of teenagers now and in the future.

Professor Elaine Fox, Professor of Psychology & Affective Neuroscience at the University of Oxford, said: "It is vitally important that we include the voice of young people in understanding the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on mental health and wellbeing. Little is known about what factors promote resilience in times of uncertainty and the Oxford ARC study is designed to answer this question. We urgently need lots of young people to take part in the study now that schools are beginning to re-open so that we can truly begin to understand what most concerns young people."