Section 5: Children’s mental health and wellbeing over the past two years
There were differences in how children thought
that they were affected, based on their age,
gender, and geographical locations.
Across age groups, 45% of children aged
16–17, 42% of children aged 14–15, 42% of
children aged 12–13, and 39% of children aged
9–11 stated that the pandemic had a negative
impact on their wellbeing. These findings are
supported by data from the Australian Council
for Educational Research (ACER), which found
that younger students, on average, have higher
levels of optimism, self-confidence and selfefficacy than older students, and that these
continue to decrease as students grow older.19
Other research also points to declining mental
health and wellbeing as children grow older.20
There were also differences across gender. 54%
of children identifying as non-binary or other,
46% of girls, and 43% of boys stated ‘yes’.
This finding is supported by the Mission Australia
Youth Survey in 2021,21 and the study into the
mental health of trans and gender diverse
children, Trans Pathways, which reported an
increased risk of poor mental health and selfharm and suicide attempts.22 Stakeholders in
roundtables also noted that they had observed
greater impacts on mental health and wellbeing
both for gender diverse children and for girls.
Small differences were also noted across
geographical locations. 46% of children living
in a capital city or large regional city, 46% of
children living in country towns, and 41% of
children living in rural or remote areas reported
negative impacts on their mental health and
wellbeing. This may be due to the length and
severity of lockdowns in cities where there were
higher numbers of COVID-19 cases.
Figure 9: Children’s survey: I felt like the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on my
wellbeing, disaggregated by gender, age and geographic location
68
Identifies as
non‑binary/other
20
(54%)
981
756
Boys
93
Living in a rural or
remote area
(41%)
460
146
(42%)
61
54
(15%)
340
1190
(39%)
Aged 9 to 11
Yes
40 |
165
(42%)
Aged 12 to 13
No
162
599
(16%)
(21%)
607
(20%)
I don’t know
27
(12%)
88
(21%)
(12%)
516
(22%)
(45%)
Aged 14 to 15
58
162
176
Aged 16 to 17
(13%)
(26%)
(21%)
(46%)
233
306
49
1238
Living in a capital city
or large regional city
(13%)
(17%)
(22%)
344
277
(23%)
(26%)
(46%)
Living in a country area
477
(18%)
(43%)
(12%)
(19%)
379
(46%)
Girls
15
24
(16%)
342
(19%)
50
(13%)
36
(13%)
105
(27%)
113
(10%)
(32%)
111
(14%)
646
(21%)
188
(23%)
571
(19%)
Did not answer question
‘Mental health shapes my life’: COVID-19 & kids’ wellbeing • 2022 | 41