Editorial: Do lockdowns scar? Three putative mechanisms through which COVID-19 mitigation policies could cause long-term harm to young people's mental health

TY - JOUR

T1 - Editorial

T2 - Do lockdowns scar? Three putative mechanisms through which COVID-19 mitigation policies could cause long-term harm to young people's mental health

AU - Sonuga-Barke, Edmund

AU - Fearon, Pasco

N1 - Funding Information: Edmund Sonuga‐Barke has received consultancy from Neurotech Solutions, grant funding from QB‐Tech and speaker fees from Takeda and Medice. He is the editor‐in‐chief of the Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry from whom he receives an honorarium. His research is supported by the Maudsley NIHR BRC, the ESRC, MRC and NIHR. Pasco Fearon is Deputy Editor in Chief of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry for which he receives an honorarium. His research is supported by the Wellcome Trust, Department for Education, ESRC, MRC and NIHR. Funding Information: Edmund Sonuga-Barke has received consultancy from Neurotech Solutions, grant funding from QB-Tech and speaker fees from Takeda and Medice. He is the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry from whom he receives an honorarium. His research is supported by the Maudsley NIHR BRC, the ESRC, MRC and NIHR. Pasco Fearon is Deputy Editor in Chief of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry for which he receives an honorarium. His research is supported by the Wellcome Trust, Department for Education, ESRC, MRC and NIHR. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

PY - 2021/12

Y1 - 2021/12

N2 - The use of lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 has been unprecedented in its scale, scope and duration despite early predictions that such a measure would have a negative impact on the mental health and well-being of many young people and their families. From a developmental psychopathology perspective both direct and indirect effects of lockdown-related harms to young people’s mental health were predictable: Direct effects, for instance, being due to the negative psychological impact of social isolation and confinement on children; Indirect effects being exerted via negative impacts on family and parent mental health and wellbeing. That these effects would vary from person-to-person was also predicted from this perspective; with vulnerable individuals with pre-existing conditions and those living in high-risk settings being at particular risk. The presumption has been that such negative effects, if they do occur, would be time limited and that everything would return to normal once lockdowns ended. But this is not necessarily the case. In this editorial we ask whether lockdowns could have long-term effects on young people's mental health and then briefly outline three putative mechanisms through which such long-term effects might occur.

AB - The use of lockdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 has been unprecedented in its scale, scope and duration despite early predictions that such a measure would have a negative impact on the mental health and well-being of many young people and their families. From a developmental psychopathology perspective both direct and indirect effects of lockdown-related harms to young people’s mental health were predictable: Direct effects, for instance, being due to the negative psychological impact of social isolation and confinement on children; Indirect effects being exerted via negative impacts on family and parent mental health and wellbeing. That these effects would vary from person-to-person was also predicted from this perspective; with vulnerable individuals with pre-existing conditions and those living in high-risk settings being at particular risk. The presumption has been that such negative effects, if they do occur, would be time limited and that everything would return to normal once lockdowns ended. But this is not necessarily the case. In this editorial we ask whether lockdowns could have long-term effects on young people's mental health and then briefly outline three putative mechanisms through which such long-term effects might occur.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85119497670&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1111/jcpp.13537

DO - 10.1111/jcpp.13537

M3 - Editorial

AN - SCOPUS:85119497670

SN - 0021-9630

VL - 62

SP - 1375

EP - 1378

JO - Journal of child psychology and psychiatry

JF - Journal of child psychology and psychiatry

IS - 12

ER -