Wellbeing

Overview

This research examines subjective wellbeing and mental health, with particular attention to how long-term trends and economic disruptions affect different population groups. The focus is on young people’s transitions through education and into work—periods when wellbeing is particularly sensitive to labour market conditions and future prospects. A key concern is understanding heterogeneity: who recovers from shocks, who doesn’t, and why.

Research Questions

• How do economic crises and labour market disruptions affect young people’s mental health and life satisfaction?
• What explains variation in wellbeing trajectories—why do some individuals recover while others experience persistent difficulties?
• How do employment prospects, social connections, and future orientations shape wellbeing during periods of uncertainty?

Approach

This work uses longitudinal data to track wellbeing over time, distinguishing temporary responses from lasting effects. The COVID-19 pandemic provided a natural experiment for studying how major disruptions propagate through different population groups. By combining high-frequency panel data with longer-running cohort studies, the research separates pandemic-specific effects from pre-existing trends in youth mental health.

Funded Projects

• Youth Economic Activity and Health (YEAH) Monitor — ESRC, 2020–2023. PI. Cross-national study of pandemic consequences for youth employment, learning and wellbeing in the UK, Germany, Canada and Ireland.

Key Publications

1. Revisiting the Mental Health Impact of COVID-19 on Young Adults in the UK: Long-Term Trends, Temporary Setbacks, and Recovery

   Golo Henseke and Ingrid Schoon

   Social Indicators Research, 2025

   Abs DOI

   

   This study assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of 16- to 29-year-olds in the United Kingdom, using longitudinal data covering the period from 2001 to 2023.

2. Social inequalities in young people’s mental distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: do psychosocial resource factors matter?

   Ingrid Schoon and Golo Henseke

   Frontiers in Public Health, 2022

   DOI

   
3. Living with COVID-19: Subjective well-being in the second phase of the pandemic

   Golo Henseke, Francis Green, and Ingrid Schoon

   Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 2022

   Abs DOI

   

   This study examines determinants of recovery in youth subjective well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, finding that social contacts and career prospects contributed significantly to life satisfaction improvements.

Header image: “Free Hugs for Mental Health” by Garry Knight, licensed under CC BY 2.0. No changes made.