A Pandemic of Mental Health: The Effects of Covid upon Teenagers
A pandemic continues to sweep through the United States, a pandemic of depression.
According to a new study by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) on mental health issues of teenagers during Covid, more than a third of teens experienced poor mental health during the pandemic. Along with this, just under half, or 44 percent, of teens said they felt persistently sad or hopeless during the same time period.
In addition, more than a third of high school students — including nearly two-thirds of Asian students and more than half of Black students — reported experiencing racism before or during the pandemic. Youth and teens who reported that they had been treated badly or unfairly in school because of their race or ethnicity were also less likely to feel connected to people at school, as well as having a greater risk of issues related to poor mental health.
Dr. Debra Houry, the acting principal deputy director at the CDC, stated that “the COVID-19 pandemic has created traumatic stressors that have the potential to further erode students’ mental wellbeing. Our research shows that surrounding youth with the proper support can reverse these trends and help our youth now and in the future.”
The tremendous uncertainty during Covid has led teens to feel a sense of additional anxiety. Dr. Lisa Coyne, senior clinical consultant at the Child and Adolescent OCD Institute in MA, said that teenagers are “ at this developmental period where they are going to seek autonomy and independence, and that’s also a scary thing sometimes. In addition to that, their whole world […], all of our worlds have been thrown into disarray, but especially for them, they have a story about what the teen years are supposed to be like. That story is getting rewritten in real-time.”
The attempts by teens to commit suicide during the Covid Lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 has risen dramatically, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Girls between the ages of 12 to 17 were found to have tried to attempt suicide increased by roughly 51% in early 2021 than the same time frame in 2019, pre-Covid. In addition, boys in the same age group had a 4% increase of suicide attempts, as well.
The CDC study indicated that the rise of suicide attempt in teens might be attributed to a “lack of connectedness to schools, teachers and peers” due to physical distancing measures, “barriers to health treatment,” “increases in substance abuse” and anxiety related to “family health and economic problems.” In addition, the rise of child abuse for children and teens during Covid is also a factor.
One study found that the physical abuse of school-aged children tripled in 2020. As schools were closed across the nation, and children remained at home, the rate of child abuse rose significantly between the months of March to September of 2020. The study focused upon data gathered from more than 39,000 children treated at nine pediatric trauma centers, and found that 2,064 were victims of suspected child abuse. The study also found that the number of child abuse victims tripled for children 5 years of age and older.
Prior to Covid, studies show that up to five million children in the United States experience and/or witness domestic violence each year. Whether it’s watching an act of physical or sexual abuse, listening to threats or sounds of violence, or viewing the evidence of such abuse in a victim in the signs of bleeding, bruises, torn clothing, or broken items, the effects are damaging to a child, in a variety of ways. Parents dealing with their own anxieties and struggles are sometimes not able to adequately care for their children. “Violence increases when you have circumstances such as unemployment and isolation,” said Gwyn Kaitis, policy coordinator for the New Mexico Coalition Against Domestic Violence.”
A study in Pennsylvania found that deaths and near-deaths of children as a result of abuse rose, as well, In 2019, 51 children died and 93 children nearly died as the result of child abuse. In 2020, 73 children died and 115 children nearly died as a result of child abuse. Together the two indicators rose 31 percent.
What many do not understand is that the effects of domestic abuse go beyond being abused or neglected themselves. For those children who have watched a parent inflict violence and abuse upon another in their home, these children are more apt to repeat this later on in their adult life with their spouses or partners. For those children who have witnessed domestic violence, they may become defiant or aggressive in their own right. Indeed, many of these children turn to drugs and alcohol later, as they age.
“Mental health problems in youth are often associated with other behavioral risks such as drug use, experiencing violence and higher risk sexual behaviors,” said Dr. Jonathan Mermin, director of the CDC’s National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD and TB Prevention. Indeed, roughly a third of high school students stated that they had used tobacco, alcohol, marijuana or misused prescription opioids during the first six months of 2021.
As Covid held a grip upon the nation, and world, human trafficking and child predators changed their methods in order to lure more victims. Covid not only resulted in an increase in child abuse and neglect, the pandemic also resulted in an increase in child pornography and child sex trafficking.
“We are seeing a big uptick in the amount of predators online, you know, talking to children,” according to the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Ariana, Fajardo-Orshan. “Parents are preoccupied, getting their work done, and kids are being left off to kind of fend for themselves and this is a predator’s dream to have these kids home on the computer all day.”
If you know of an incident of child abuse or domestic violence, it needs to be reported. Call the police, call local law enforcement, call 911, or call The National Domestic Abuse Hotline at 1–800–799-SAFE (7233). For those looking for help regarding suicide or for more information, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and the Crisis Text Line.
Dr. John DeGarmo is an international expert in parenting and foster care and is a TEDx Talk presenter. Dr. John is the founder and director of The Foster Care Institute. He and his wife have had over 60 children come through their home as foster parents. He is an international consultant to schools, legal firms, and foster care agencies, as well as an empowerment and transformational speaker and trainer for schools, child welfare, businesses, and non profit organizations. He is the author of several foster care books, including Keeping Foster Children Safe Online: Positive Strategies to Prevent Cyberbullying, Inappropriate Contact, and Other Digital Dangers and writes for several publications. Dr. John has appeared on CNN HLN, Good Morning, America, and NBC, FOX, CBS, and PBS stations across the nation. He and his wife have received many awards, including the Good Morning America Ultimate Hero Award. He can be contacted at drjohndegarmo@gmail, through his Facebook page, Dr. John DeGarmo, or at The Foster Care Institute.
