Young people’s mental health not fully recovered after Covid
Five years of research shows that people aged 16 to 25 have been affected for the long term.
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The mental health and wellbeing of people aged 16 to 25 remained below pre-pandemic levels in several respects at the end of 2025. That is according to a five-year study by RIVM, Nivel, GGD’en and ARQ.
It has not been confirmed that the study was brought to the attention of Sophie Hermans, the Minister of Health, on Thursday. The researchers tracked the consequences of the pandemic and Covid measures between 2021 and 2025. Among other things, they examined mental health, social connectedness and experienced wellbeing.
According to RIVM, the pandemic had a negative impact on most people’s individual wellbeing and connectedness with others. The researchers found that young people, people on lower incomes and people who already had mental health problems before the pandemic were affected relatively severely.
The effects were more visible among young people who lived independently during the pandemic, lived in a city or struggled to make ends meet. Young people who already had mental health problems also proved more vulnerable. There was improvement in some respects by the end of 2025, but the previous level had not returned everywhere.
The report does not attribute this development to one single cause. The pandemic brought health risks, but also restrictions on education, work, social contacts and leisure activities. The researchers stress that the findings mainly show how different circumstances can reinforce one another.
The study is not a diagnostic tool for individual young people. It describes developments in groups and makes no statement about the treatment or prospects of any one person. RIVM’s group data do not mean that all young people experienced uniform ‘Covid damage’.
The researchers recommend systematically monitoring wellbeing and social connectedness before, during and after a crisis. They also call for future measures to take more explicit account of the consequences for different groups. This should prevent health damage caused by crisis policy from remaining out of sight.
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One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The study covers the period from 2021 to 2025.
- Young people are among the groups that reported long-term negative effects.
- Improvement was visible in some respects by the end of 2025.
- The previous level of wellbeing had not returned everywhere.
Left
Arguments The findings show that young people need sustained additional support through mental health services, education and financial security. The costs of crisis policy must not fall mainly on young people and vulnerable households.
Values Equal opportunities, prevention and collective responsibility.
Consequences Greater public investment could limit later care and dropout costs, but would require choices within health and education budgets.
Centre
Arguments Future crisis policy must weigh public health and social harm at the same time. This requires better monitoring, targeted support and evaluation of measures without ruling out every intervention in advance.
Values Proportionality, evidence and feasibility.
Consequences A permanent monitoring system could enable faster adjustments, but would provide useful information only if groups were followed over a long period.
Right
Arguments The government should exercise restraint with far-reaching restrictions on education, work and social contacts. If measures are nevertheless necessary, their aims should be clear and the burdens kept as limited as possible.
Values Personal freedom, responsibility and limited government power.
Consequences Fewer broad restrictions could limit social harm, but could make tackling a disease more difficult in a new crisis.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The key findings and the study population can be found directly in the RIVM publication. The text avoids individual medical conclusions and makes clear that the data concern groups.
- confirmed The mental health of people aged 16 to 25 had not returned to pre-pandemic levels in every respect by the end of 2025. — Summary of the study as presented by RIVM and the NVP. source
- confirmed The study ran from 2021 through 2025. — Mentioned in the RIVM summary. source
- confirmed Young people and people with existing mental health problems were affected relatively severely. — Identified as vulnerable groups in the RIVM publication. source
Editor's note
The findings come from a five-year monitor by RIVM and its partners. The study shows differences between groups and recovery that is not complete, but it does not prove an individual causal relationship or fixed prognosis.Sources
- Welzijn en maatschappelijke weerbaarheid in beeld: vijf jaar onderzoek naar de effecten van de coronapandemie — RIVM
- Jongeren hebben nog altijd last van coronatijd — Nederlandse Vereniging voor Psychotherapie
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