the psychological stress and fears about the future of young people are becoming more acute according to an online survey. At the same time, young people now feel that they are more heard politically, but still have the impression that they cannot influence political decisions, as the first results of the third “JuCo III” survey of young people and young adults during the Corona period show, which were presented on Tuesday. In December 2021, 6159 young people took part in the online survey conducted by the University of Hildesheim and the Goethe University in Frankfurt.
According to the study, 54 percent of the participants fully agreed with the question of whether they were particularly mentally stressed – in the previous study from November 2020 with around 7000 respondents, the proportion was 41.2 percent.
“Even in these difficult times, young people are trying to use their creative potential,” explained Tanja Rusack, research associate at the University of Hildesheim. Johanna Wilmes from Goethe University made it clear: “But they can only do that if they are socially and economically secure.”
The researchers concluded that the finding that the proportion of young people whose financial worries have increased since the pandemic is growing is something that makes one sit up and take notice. In the new study, 43.4 percent of those surveyed reported major money worries – in November 2020 the proportion was 33.8 percent.
The long duration of the pandemic has left its mark on young people, according to the researchers. There are still severe restrictions in education and leisure time, learning at home is difficult for many. More than half of the young people surveyed had experienced the loss of social contacts during the pandemic (56.3 percent). 24.5 percent of those questioned spoke of the experience of more intensive relationships.