The situation was so dire, he said, that his team did not send children home for Christmas, as usual. Isolation has also disrupted teens’ habitual transition, when young people move from belonging to their family to belonging to their peers, added Dr. Vermeiren adds. “They feel empty, lonely, and that loneliness makes them desperate,” he said.
In Italy last year, the number of calls to the main hotline for young people who have considered or tried to harm themselves doubled last year. Beds in a pediatric neuropsychiatry department at the Bambino Gesù Children’s Hospital in Rome have been full since October, said Dr. Stefano Vicari, the director of the department.
Hospital admissions of young Italians who have harmed themselves or attempted suicide are up 30 percent in the second wave of cases, he added.
“For those who say that after all, these are challenges that young people have to go through, that they will come out stronger, this is only true for some, those who have more resources,” said Dr. Vicari.
Catherine Seymour, head of research at the Mental Health Foundation, a UK-based charity, said young people in poorer households are more likely to experience anxiety and depression, according to a survey of nearly 2,400 teens.
“People in poorer households may be more likely to have insufficient space and Internet access to help with school work and communicate with their friends,” said Ms. Seymour. “They can also be affected by their parents’ financial worries and stress.”
Studies of the first lockdowns suggest they may have already left an indelible mark.
In France, a survey of nearly 70,000 college students found that 10 percent had had suicidal thoughts during the first months of the pandemic, and more than a quarter were suffering from depression.