MERC looks at mental health impacts of COVID-19
New systematic literature review focuses on 104 empirical studies to explore how COVID-19 impacted the mental health of PK-12 students.
A new systematic literature review by the Metropolitan Educational Research Consortium (MERC), a center within the VCU School of Education, focuses on 104 empirical studies that explore how COVID-19 impacted the mental health of PK-12 students.
The article, titled The Mental Health Impacts of COVID-19 on PK–12 Students: A Systematic Review of Emerging Literature, was published this month in AERA Open and has five themes:
- The disruptive nature of COVID-19
- The connection between caregiver and student mental health
- The broad mental health impacts of COVID-19
- Students whose mental health was particularly impacted by COVID-19
- Evidence of resilience and coping during the pandemic
Recommendations for research, policy and practice are provided at the conclusion of the article, along with a comprehensive table with all included literature. Because the authors published the article in AERA Open, the article is open access and available for free public download.
The co-authors of the report are:
- David Naff, Ph.D., associate director of MERC, assistant professor in the Department of Foundations of Education
- Shenita Williams, doctoral candidate in the School of Education’s Ph.D. in Education with a Concentration in Educational Leadership, Policy and Justice program
- Jenna Darby, Ph.D., research and evaluation specialist for Chesterfield County Public Schools, recent graduate of SOE’s Ph.D. in Education with a Concentration in Educational Leadership, Policy and Justice program
- Melissa Yeung, Ph.D., Student Services coordinator for the School of Physical Therapy at Bowling Green State University, recent graduate of SOE’s Ph.D. in Education with a Concentration in Educational Leadership, Policy and Justice program
Citation:
Naff, D., Williams, S.*, Furman-Darby, J.*, & Yeung, M.* (2022) The mental health impacts of COVID-19 on PK-12 students: A systematic review of emerging literature. AERA Open, 8(1), 1-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/23328584221084722.