Based on a new report published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, the gap between the mental health of the richest and the poorest children in the UK was at an all-time low during the pandemic.
Experts attribute this phenomenon to a number of possibilities. Firstly, in the event of public spaces being inaccessible to most, working individuals were relegated to their homes where they had to work double shifts, managing their home alongside their livelihood. This worsened the mental health condition of most parents which then affected their children as well.
Besides that, since interaction with other individuals was limited during the time, most people who relied on the services of others were forced to do the work on their own, causing aggravated levels of mental distress.
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Another thing that experts think played a key role in influencing the mental health of individuals during the pandemic is the constant fear of catching the virus and the paranoia surrounding it, especially affecting parents who were employed in essential roles designed to tackle the pandemic.
This again, in turn, affected the mental status of children who had parents working in key roles during the time.
Has there really been a narrowing of the gap between the mental health of the richest and the poorest children in the UK?
According to a aforementioned report, children from disadvantaged families did not show stark differences in their mental health status during the pandemic which came as a surprise to the experts. Anticipating what the reason behind this could be, they said:
“We speculate that social isolation and reduced access to services during the Covid-19 pandemic brought the experiences of traditionally advantaged groups closer to those already faced by children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and/or that emergency income support measures during the pandemic may have eased the economic burden for disadvantaged families.”
Although the study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health has had some limitations, experts have assured that their findings hold true. The study is an important contribution to the field, one which will open doors for further study on the topic.
