Skip to content

Changes in children’s mental health and parents’ financial stress from March 2020 to October 2022

This report outlines the changes in child mental health and parental financial stress 30 months after the start of COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Key findings based on parent/carer reports within the Co-SPACE sample are:

  • On average, children and young people’s behavioural and emotional difficulties have decreased since March 2022.
  • Children and young people’s attentional difficulties have, on average, remained unchanged since March 2022.
  • Children with SEN/ND and those from low-income families and single-adult households continue to show elevated behavioural, emotional, and attentional difficulties relative to the rest of the Co-SPACE sample.
  • Parent/carer financial stress decreased during the first UK national lockdown but increased since (at its highest so far in October 2022).
  • Financial stress was higher among parents of children with SEN/ND, from low-income families and single-adult households compared to the whole sample in the Co-SPACE study.

 You can read the full report by clicking “Download Full Report” above.