Our report launched today shows Year 9 students across the South West of England saw a reduction in anxiety levels and increase in wellbeing during lockdown compared to before the pandemic (1/6)

Larger improvements in mental health and wellbeing were seen for students who had poorer mental health and wellbeing and felt less connected to schools prior to lockdown (2/6)

This raises questions about the role of the school environment in explaining rises in mental health difficulties among teenagers in recent years, perhaps due to pressure of academic work and challenging peer relationships including bullying (3/6)

Another key finding was that students reported feeling more connected to schools during lockdown compared to before the pandemic, suggesting teachers may have found new ways to nurture connectedness whilst students are away from school (e.g. via digital platforms) (4/6)

We did not see any overall changes in peer connectedness which suggests young people have been able to maintain social connections perhaps due to social media. @LizzyWinstone will be looking more closely at different ways teenagers use social media & impact on mental health (5/6)

The full report as well as an infographic and policy briefing can be found here: (6/6) https://sphr.nihr.ac.uk/research/young-peoples-mental-health-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/