Quality of life in young people in the pandemic and post-pandemic eras: empirical, theoretical, methodological, and intervention considerations

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the quality of life of young people. In this paper, we review the quality of life of young people with reference to negative mental health (e.g., depression and anxiety) and positive mental health (e.g., life satisfaction and hope) in the COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 eras. Empirically, there are more studies using negative mental health measures than research focusing on positive mental health, and there are more studies in the Western than the non-Western contexts. Theoretically, we argue that the ecological perspective can help to give a more comprehensive picture on the impact of different systems on the quality of life of young people. In particular, a family resilience perspective focusing on family social capital can enable researchers to understand how the pandemic impacts the family, which would eventually affect the quality of life of young people. Methodologically, there are wide variations in the studies examining quality of life in young people. Most studies on mental health symptoms use rating scales, which are methodologically controversial, and studies are dominated by quantitative methods. Regarding intervention, there are wide variations in child and adolescent mental health services and policies with the main focus on tertiary prevention and financial capital enhancement. There is a weak effort to address the need to prepare young people for future pandemics and to enhance their holistic quality of life under future global crises.