Approved work: Birthrate decline
New parliamentary research project approved to explore the impacts of birthrate decline

A POSTnote describing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's mental health. This briefing summarises the latest understanding from research about the effects on children throughout the pandemic, and the factors that increase vulnerability to poor mental health. It also reviews policy approaches that seek to protect children's mental health, with particular focus on recent initiatives to address this.
Children's Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic (453 KB , PDF)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58248/PN653
In the UK, mental health disorders are the leading cause of child disability, and there are high unmet child mental health needs. The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified known risk factors for child mental health disorders and disrupted support structures, leading to concerns that children’s mental health may be negatively affected.
There has been limited research published to date about the mental health of children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most studies that have been undertaken have found that, on average, children’s mental health had worsened during the pandemic, although the majority of children remained well. Assessment of NHS data has shown that rates of referrals to child mental health services are now at record highs. Evidence suggests that those at greatest risk of poor mental health during the pandemic include children with previous mental health or learning difficulties and those at socioeconomic disadvantage.
The Government response has included £79m to accelerate previous plans to improve children’s wellbeing and mental healthcare provision in education and healthcare settings, as well as initiatives to address the wider determinants of mental health. However, many stakeholders highlight that these initiatives are likely to be insufficient to meet the needs of most children with, or at risk of, poor mental health, and suggest the following priorities:
POSTnotes are based on literature reviews and interviews with a range of stakeholders and are externally peer-reviewed. POST would like to thank consultees and peer reviewers for kindly giving up their time during the preparation of this briefing, including:
Members of the POST Board*
Andy Bell, Centre for Mental Health*
Professor Barry Carpenter, Oxford Brookes University*
Professor Cathy Creswell, University of Oxford*
Department of Health and Social Care*
Dr Bernadka Dubicka, Royal College of Psychiatrists
Dr Mina Fazel, University of Oxford*
Professor Tamsin Ford, University of Cambridge*
Nick Harrop, YoungMinds*
Professor Vivian Hill and Dr Melernie Meheux, British Psychological Society*
Matthew Hopkinson, Department for Education*
Martin Lennon, Office of the Children’s Commissioner for England
Dr Elaine Lockhart, Royal College of Psychiatrists*
Dr Gordana Milavić and Martin Pratt, Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health*
NHS England*
Dr Dasha Nicholls, Imperial College London
Minnie Rinvolucri, Mind*
Claire Robson and representatives from the Life Course and Health Inequalities Team and Public Mental Health Team, Public Health England*
Royal College of General Practitioners*
Professor Emily Simonoff, King’s College London*
Professor Sir Terence Stephenson, University College London*
Professor Russell Viner, University College London
Ruby Livings Waterworth and colleagues, Youth Access
Emily Widnall, University of Bristol
Dr Katherine Young, King’s College London
* denotes people and organisations who acted as external reviewers of the briefing.
Children's Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic (453 KB , PDF)
New parliamentary research project approved to explore the impacts of birthrate decline
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