Aussie year 11s and 12s had high rates of depression during the pandemic, despite few infections

An Australian survey of over 1000 kids entering year 11 in 2020 and year 12 in 2021 has found that more than half of them reported depressive symptoms, and one quarter reported anxiety symptoms during the pandemic. The authors say the mental health problems and poor levels of well-being occurred despite low rates of COVID-19 infection, suggesting that government policy responses contributed to the detrimental impacts observed in adolescents. One fifth of adolescents with mental health problems during the pandemic had no prior history of mental problems. The authors say schools play a central role in maintaining the mental health and subjective well-being of students, and this is particularly important during periods of social disruption, such as pandemics.