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As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, survey finds

reuters.com

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Re: As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, survey finds

#11
post #6

The sun is shining, the vaccines are flowing, I can eat inside now, I am feeling optimistic today. But on my grey days: I wonder how long the mental health trauma of all this will last. Besides school-age depression, there was a noticeable uptick in drug overdoses. ( https://www.statnews.com/2021/02/16/as-pandemic-ushered-in-i... ) And, anecdotally, I have several friends and acquaintances who developed severe drug i…

When times become hard, people turn to drugs, depression and religion. The wave will die down with the virus.

Re: As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, survey finds

#12
I am neither in the U.S. nor a student, not even an extrovert - and I still feel the effects of our local lockdown on my mental stability. So does my wife, who is usually more resilient than I am.

This will have a lot of subtle consequences down the line.

Re: As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, survey finds

#13

Anyone else find it strange that a country that has often fallen in line with "think of the children" arguments for hypothetical dangers appears to be completely uncaring about very real dangers of social isolation that are impacting our youth?

The US federal gov’t spends about 3x as much on those over the age of 65 than it does those under the age of 18 (including transfer payments to parents of those children)[0].

Personally, I think that should be flipped, but kid’s don’t vote.

[0]https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/23x...

Re: As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, survey finds

#14

Anyone else find it strange that a country that has often fallen in line with "think of the children" arguments for hypothetical dangers appears to be completely uncaring about very real dangers of social isolation that are impacting our youth?

The US federal gov’t spends about 3x as much on those over the age of 65 than it does those under the age of 18 (including transfer payments to parents of those children)[0]. Personally, I think that should be flipped, but kid’s don’t vote. [0] https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/23x...

Why so?

Re: As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, survey finds

#15
post #6

The sun is shining, the vaccines are flowing, I can eat inside now, I am feeling optimistic today. But on my grey days: I wonder how long the mental health trauma of all this will last. Besides school-age depression, there was a noticeable uptick in drug overdoses. ( https://www.statnews.com/2021/02/16/as-pandemic-ushered-in-i... ) And, anecdotally, I have several friends and acquaintances who developed severe drug i…

When times become hard, people turn to drugs, depression and religion. The wave will die down with the virus.

Surely this is a bit of a tautology - like, 'when viruses are endemic, people will suffer from breathing dificulties, pneumonia, low oxygen count and in some cases death'. The idea is, like with COVID, we do something about it. Also no one turns to depression or drug abuse any more than they turn to being admitted to an ICU.

Re: As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, survey finds

#16
That’s just the tip of the iceberg too. A quick summary of the lockdown harms:

missed hospital visits for heart attacks and cancer screening, cancelled childhood vaccinations, school closures, child and spousal abuse, kids growing up without seeing facial expressions on others, pain from postponed elective (including dental) procedures, food shortages in the third world (and even in developed countries), the highest number of overdose deaths ever recorded in the US, massive economic damage, closed gyms and sports, suicide & mental illness

Re: As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, survey finds

#17
post #3

There is an interesting article about how race affects the decision to go back to school. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/03/why-black-paren...

It's interesting how Mother Jones spins a fairly minor polling difference into a whole narrative about "Black Parents [Not] Joining the Push to Reopen Schools." First, they clearly are. According to the CDC study cited by the article, 46% of Black parents agreed that schools should reopen in the fall: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6949a2.htm?s_cid=mm....

The article spins out a Black-white difference on this measure because 62% of white parents think schools should reopen in the fall. That modest difference can almost certainly be explained by differences in where people live: Black people are more likely to live in urban areas, where density can feed concerns about easier spread of the disease. They are also more likely to live in Democratic jurisdictions, especially cities, where government officials have been more cautious and have urged more caution about reopening.

As a Marylander, I'm not surprised that people in a neighborhood within Baltimore City limits is skeptical about school reopening. The white people up there are also skeptical about reopening! Meanwhile here in exurban Anne Arundel county, people are much more eager about school reopening. We had protests this past summer in front of the county health office (which is by my house) urging the county to reopen high school sports. Black parents were at least as well represented at these protests as they are in the county as a whole (about 15-20%).

Re: As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, survey finds

#18

Anyone else find it strange that a country that has often fallen in line with "think of the children" arguments for hypothetical dangers appears to be completely uncaring about very real dangers of social isolation that are impacting our youth?

The US federal gov’t spends about 3x as much on those over the age of 65 than it does those under the age of 18 (including transfer payments to parents of those children)[0]. Personally, I think that should be flipped, but kid’s don’t vote. [0] https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/23x...

I think you flipped the numbers my dude. The federal government spent "about $615 billion—on transfer payments and services for people age 65 or older" in 2000, and "Federal spending on children in 2000 will total about $148 billion, or $175 billion if payments to the children’s parents are included"

Re: As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, survey finds

#19
post #3

There is an interesting article about how race affects the decision to go back to school. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2021/03/why-black-paren...

Not accurate in my community and no data. It is an opinion piece extrapolating from a few examples.

Re: As U.S. schools shuttered, student mental health cratered, survey finds

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US federal gov’t spends about 3x as much on those over the age of 65 than it does those under the age of 18 (including transfer payments to parents of those children)[0]. Personally, I think that should be flipped, but kid’s don’t vote. [0] https://www.cbo.gov/sites/default/files/cbofiles/ftpdocs/23x...

Why so?

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