Generation COVID-19: Responding to the Pandemic’s Impact on Youth
An APA Division 15 Policy Brief
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, accumulating research documents how the pandemic has affected young people. These studies are based in a range of disciplinary perspectives—e.g., neuroscience, clinical, developmental—and many can inform strategies for effectively supporting young people’s psychosocial well-being in educational settings. This brief reviews social, academic, identity, and mental health impacts from the literature and offers policy recommendations for university administration and staff, psychologists, and policymakers to promote and support young people’s psychosocial health and well-being.
About the Authors
Dr. Gabriel Velez, Marquette University
Gabriel Velez is an assistant professor and developmental psychologist in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership (EDPL) in the College of Education at Marquette University. Dr. Velez studies identity development in adolescents, particularly in relation to citizenship, human rights, and peace, including young people’s understandings and responses to peace education and restorative justice in educational contexts.
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Camelia E. Hostinar, UC Davis
Camelia Hostinar is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology. Dr. Hostinar studies how the social environment shapes health, with a focus on the activity of the stress-response and immune systems. She is examining pathways linking early-life stress to later risk for disease and investigating protective processes that could short-circuit these adverse trajectories.
Email: [email protected]