Appendix 1: Literature review Appendices The design of the surveys was informed by a literature review that included the existing literature on child mental health and wellbeing in Australia, both pre-pandemic and contemporary, and the systems and conditions that support positive mental health and wellbeing. It also included relevant government policies to understand the government decisions about pandemic-related restrictions. In this review, literature within the last decade was prioritised. A snowballing strategy was used, where the reference lists of large articles and reports were reviewed to identify additional relevant sources. It is known that young people’s wellbeing is influenced by culture, social norms and media. Therefore, research from Australia and other developed western nations with similar cultural backgrounds was prioritised. In consideration of this mixed methods approach, both qualitative and quantitative research was explored. The search scope included considerable ‘grey’ literature (for example, media reports or opinion pieces). Given the dynamic and changing issues that emerged throughout the pandemic, publication and reporting of the state of affairs has happened through the media rather than peer-reviewed sources. Only research published in English was considered in this review. There is substantial variation, and overlap, of terminology within the literature base. Definitional differences plague accurate reporting of mental health issues and poor wellbeing outcomes for children and young people. For the purposes of this report, ‘mental health and wellbeing’ is used to refer to the range of mental health issues facing children. Some statistics on the pervasiveness of mental health conditions relate to young children, whereas others explore cohorts up to 25 years old. Where possible, this is made clear in the different statistics reported. 130 | 1.1 What was the state of children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing pre‑pandemic? A downward trend in relation to children’s mental health was evident well before the pandemic hit.64 For example, Australia ranked 35 out of 38 for mental wellbeing in a global UNICEF report with data collected prior to the pandemic.65 There have been ongoing reports of declining adolescent emotional wellbeing, particularly among girls.66 There has been a sustained rise in the prevalence of mental health issues for young people aged 12–17 years, with a greater increase for girls.67 The second and most recent Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing was conducted in 2013–14 with over 6,300 families with children aged 4–17 years.68 Parents and carers completed a survey, while children aged 11 years and older completed their own survey. These results were compared with the 1998 National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (based only on parent/carer reporting). This comparison showed no change in depressive disorders between 1998 and 2013–14 for children aged 6–11 years. However, the prevalence of major depressive disorders for children aged 12–17 increased from 2.9% to 5%. According to this 2013–14 data, the most common conditions for girls was anxiety, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) for boys.69 The report suggested one in seven children aged between 4 and 17 experience mental health issues. Survey data of 4,065 children and young people aged between 12 and 25 years collected by headspace in 2018 showed one-third (32%) of participating Australian children and young people were experiencing psychological distress.70 ‘Mental health shapes my life’: COVID-19 & kids’ wellbeing • 2022 | 131