Socio-economic disparities in the psychosocial and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and young people in Australia

Meredith O'Connor; Katherine Lange; Marnie Downes; Margarita Moreno-Betancur; David Burgner; Naomi Priest; Valerie Sung; Stephanie J Brown; Deirdre Gartland; Kirsten P Perrett; Sharon Goldfeld; Craig A Olsson

doi:10.1111/jpc.16737

Socio-economic disparities in the psychosocial and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and young people in Australia

J Paediatr Child Health. 2024 Dec 25. doi: 10.1111/jpc.16737. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Meredith O'Connor^{1

2

3}, Katherine Lange^{1

2}, Marnie Downes^{1

2}, Margarita Moreno-Betancur^{1

2}, David Burgner^{1

2

4}, Naomi Priest¹, Valerie Sung^{1

2

5}, Stephanie J Brown^{1

2}, Deirdre Gartland^{1

2}, Kirsten P Perrett^{1

2

5}, Sharon Goldfeld^#^{1

2}, Craig A Olsson^#^{1

6}

Affiliations

¹ Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
² Department of Paediatrics, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
³ Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁶ SEED-Lifespan, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 39721802
DOI: 10.1111/jpc.16737

Abstract

Aims: While COVID-19 no longer presents a global health emergency, the indirect (non-infection) impacts of the pandemic may exacerbate health inequalities in years to come. We examined the socio-economic distribution of the impacts of the pandemic on the psychosocial and economic well-being of children, young people and their families.

Methods: The CoRonavIruS Health Impact Survey (CRISIS) was conducted in seven existing longitudinal cohorts, together involving n = 3072 participants aged 0-19 years. Online surveys were conducted from May 2020-April 2021, during periods of low infection but stringent public health measures in Victoria, Australia. Analysed CRISIS domains included: COVID-19-related worries, mood state, economic difficulties and positive life changes. Social disadvantage of each sample was characterised by pre-pandemic maternal education, unemployment, income and neighbourhood disadvantage, avoiding cross-sectional data limitations. The proportion of children experiencing each type of pandemic impact was estimated within each cohort.

Results: Substantial socio-economic disparities were observed. COVID-19-related worries were 22 percentage points higher in the most (24.2%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 19.4-29.1) versus least (2.9%, 95% CI 1-4.7) disadvantaged cohorts. Similar patterns were noted for negative mood state (19.4%, 95% CI 15-23.9 vs. 3.6%, 95% CI 1.6-5.6), economic difficulties (18.5%, 95% CI 14.2-22.9 vs. 5.7%, 95% CI 3.3-8.1) and lower levels of positive life changes (63.7%, 95% CI 58.3-69.1 vs. 83.2%, 95% CI 78.9-87.4).

Conclusions: Indirect consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic showed significant disparities across populations experiencing different socio-economic conditions. The pandemic offers a unique opportunity to rethink and redesign policies and services to achieve greater equity now and better preparedness for global crises in future.

Keywords: COVID‐19; cross‐cohort; health inequity; longitudinal; mental health; socio‐economic disparity.

Abstract

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