The implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for policy in relation to children and young people: a research review
Smyth and fellow collaborators at ESRI, Dublin.
Research questions:
How has COVID-19 impacted on the lives of children and young people in terms of their family and peer relationships; formal and informal learning; physical and mental health and wellbeing; and transitions to further/higher education, training and the youth labour market?
Type(s) of inequality and how inequality is defined:
Inequality is defined as the differences in social class, education and/or household income across groups of children, young people and families.
Approach or method used:
Our research on well-being emphasises that inequalities in individuals’ overall quality of life matter as much as their economic and financial well-being. Some vulnerable groups are exposed from their earlier years to a set of disadvantages and stressful life events; and these are likely to impact on outcomes in relation to their health and socio-emotional well-being. Research has shown that children from disadvantaged family backgrounds are more likely to report poorer health and socio-emotional problems, with important repercussions in terms of their well-being and opportunities later in life. We will explore these issues in relation to some vulnerable groups in Scotland, aiming to generate knowledge and inform practice to create the conditions for all people to thrive.
Our current research projects related to well-being inequalities are listed below. These link closely with our research into Socio-economic, Education, Employment, Gender and Age inequalities.