Study: Depression among youth high during lockdown

Study: Depression among youth high during lockdown

Sushil.Rao@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:  02.08.2020

About 33% of youngsters in the age group of 16-20 were either depressed or stressed during the period from April 1 to May 12 when lockdown was strictly enforced. In a study ‘Psychosocial impact of Covid-19 lockdown on mental well-being among 11 states of India: A Markov model approach’, 22% of respondents had shown signs of depression, while anxiety was seen among 15% of respondents and stress in 10% of them. These findings were published in the ‘Journal of Psychiatry and Psychiatric Disorders’ on July 29.

V Vishwak Reddy, assistant professor, department of psychiatry, Kamineni Institute of Medical Sciences, Narketpally, who was part of the group that conducted the study, said 27.5% of 891 respondents had exhibited either depression, anxiety or stress. “This is a very high percentage,” Dr Vishwak told STOI.

“Lack of experience in handling a crisis situation, excessive usage of social media as well as inherent restlessness induced by being house-bound can possibly contribute to the significant high rate of depression in the age group of 16-20 years,” the study said. A total of 891 people responded from 11 states across the country and 90% of them were from the five states in the south.

“Amid unprecedented health and socio-economic crisis emanating from the Covid-19 lockdown in India from March 25 and extending into its fourth phase is a matter of great concern to mental health professionals,” the study said, adding that the aim was to evaluate the psychological impact during the pandemic.

The study was done by consultant psychiatrist Satya Revanth Karri of Nalgonda, Tabitha Jezreel and Shadan Afeen, PG students, department of psychiatry, KIMS, and Praveen Khairkar, professor, department of psychiatry at KIMS.