Impact of Economic and Pandemic Crises on the Mental Health of the Youths in a Deprived Area

Ana Eneriz Janeiro, Santiago Perez Cachafeiro, Carlos Alberto Crespo Diz

Keywords: MENTAL HEALTH, YOUTH, ECONOMIC CRISES

Background:

Successive economic and pandemic crises (including lockdowns) had a great health impact worldwide. These crises had exacerbated social problems and pre-existing social inequality, which are related to health inequities, especially in deprived areas. Teis neighborhood is one of the largest and most populated in Vigo. It’s a deprived area of diverse, working-class people, where rural and urban spaces are also mixed

Research questions:

We wanted to assess the impact of economic and pandemic crises on the mental health and emotional well-being of child and adolescent populations in a deprived area: the Vigo neighborhood of Teis.

Method:

We carried out semi-structured interviews to key social agents of the neighborhood (teachers, social workers, mental health professionals, nurses, GPs, pediatricians). People who can offer us information on the mental health of Teis youths, allowing to make an approximation to its social, economic and community context.

Results:

Stakeholders pointed the Pandemic has a before and after event, but it is not being perceived as the main determinant. It aggravated emotional discomfort and previous mental health problems. Main mental health problems faced by adolescents are related to anxiety, among which the generalized increase in self-injurious behavior stands out.
The preliminary results of the study show a clear concern for mental health from educational centers, where agents raised sentences like: “that generates a feeling that I neither feel nor suffer, I am empty and if I cut myself I feel something”. There is frustration among professionals and the perception of lack of resources, especially human resources in mental health.

Conclusions:

It is necessary to provide communities in general with resources to deal with the mental health problems of young people, which have increased after lockdowns but were present in the neighborhood.

Points for discussion:

Roles of educational centers and health centers on the mental health of the youths

Influence of social media

Importance of Community support

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