The situation was so serious, he said, that his team did not send children home for Christmas, as it normally would. Isolation also interrupted the normal transition from adolescence, when young people cease to belong to the family to belong to their peers, added Dr. Vermeiren. “They feel empty, lonely and that loneliness drives them to despair,” he said.
In Italy, calls doubled last year to the main hotline for young people who have considered or tried to hurt themselves. Beds in a children’s neuropsychiatric unit at the Children’s Hospital Bambino Gesù in Rome have been full since October, said Dr. Stefano Vicari, the unit’s director.
Hospitalizations of young Italians who were injured or attempted suicide increased by 30% in the second wave of cases, he added.
“For those who say that, after all, these are the challenges that young people have to face, that they will come out stronger, this is only true for some who have more resources,” said Dr. Vicari.
Catherine Seymour, head of research at the Mental Health Foundation, a UK-based charity, said young people living in poorer families were more likely to experience anxiety and depression, according to a study conducted among some of 2,400 teenagers.
“It may be that those who live in poorer families are more likely to not have enough space and Internet access to help with schoolwork and communication with friends,” said Seymour. “They can also be affected by their parents’ financial worries and stress.”
The studies of the first blocks suggest that they may have already left an indelible mark.
In France, a survey of almost 70,000 students found that 10% had thoughts of suicide during the first months of the pandemic and more than a quarter suffered from depression.