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

AimsWhile 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.MethodsThe 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.ResultsSubstantial 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).ConclusionsIndirect 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.