Qualitative Lead(s)
Professor Vanessa Lawrence
Project Lead & Team
Project leads: Craig Morgan, Gemma Knowles
Research team included researchers from King’s College London and University of Oxford, and members of the REACH Young People’s Advisory Group (YPAG), who contributed to study design, interpretation and refinement of findings.
Project Dates
2020–2021
Funding Source(s)
Maudsley Charity (Grant COV0491)
Qualitative Design used
- Participatory and Creative Research
- Exploring Illness, Wellbeing and Recovery Experiences
- Methodological Research
- Longitudinal Research Evidence
Field of Research
Mental health, young people, educational stress; socioeconomic disadvantage; inequality; COVID-19.
Geographic/Contextual Setting
Inner-city London secondary schools and young people’s home environments during periods of national lockdown and school reopening.
Young People’s Experiences of Education, Inequality and Mental Health During COVID-19 Lockdowns
This qualitative study examined how COVID-19 lockdowns and educational disruption shaped the mental health, wellbeing, and future concerns of young people from socially and ethnically diverse backgrounds in inner-city London. Embedded within the REACH cohort study, qualitative interviews and digital diaries were used to capture young people’s lived experiences over time, illuminating how structural inequality, educational pressure, and uncertainty intersected to intensify distress during and beyond the pandemic.
Qualitative Approach and Methods
Aim of the qualitative component
To understand how young people from socioeconomically disadvantaged and ethnically diverse backgrounds experienced COVID-19 lockdowns, school closures, and educational uncertainty, and how these experiences shaped mental health, stress, coping, and perceptions of future opportunity.
Qualitative methodology
Framework analysis; longitudinal qualitative design; contextualist approach informed by the educational stressor’s hypothesis.
Which qualitative methods were used?
- Individual interviews.
- Digital qualitative diaries (written, audio, and video formats).
- Participatory input via a Young People’s Advisory Group.
Sampling & recruitment
Participants were purposively sampled from the REACH cohort to ensure diversity across gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic position (including free school meal eligibility), and mental health risk (SDQ scores). Young people aged 15–18 were recruited during the first year of the pandemic, with attention to inclusion of those experiencing disadvantage and heightened vulnerability.
Data analysis: how the team made sense of the data
Interview and diary data were transcribed and analysed using Framework Analysis. Analysis involved team-based familiarisation, iterative development of a thematic framework, use of matrices to explore within- and between-case patterns, and reflexive discussion within the research team.
Longitudinal diary data enabled examination of change over time and meaning-making processes, supported by analytic diaries and collaboration with the YPAG.
Data were analysed within a critical realistic framework that recognised the insight that diaries provide into the children’s lived experience and that these accounts are shaped by intrapersonal and contextual factors.
Findings, Learning & Impact
Summary of main findings
The qualitative research revealed that lockdown initially brought relief for some young people through reduced social and academic pressures. Over time, however, educational disruption, loss of structure, and uncertainty about exams and future prospects became dominant stressors. For young people living in overcrowded housing, with limited digital access, caring responsibilities, or financial strain, schoolwork became overwhelming and inescapable, intensifying anxiety, low mood, and exhaustion. Educational pressure emerged as a key mechanism through which structural inequality was translated into mental distress.
Why were qualitative methods used in this project, and what did they enable?
Qualitative methods were essential to capture the lived experience and evolving meanings of lockdown and educational disruption. Interviews provided depth and context, while digital diaries enabled real-time, longitudinal insight into how stressors accumulated and how young people negotiated meaning, pressure, and coping over time. The methods illuminated mechanisms linking structural disadvantage, education systems, and mental health that could not be captured through surveys alone.
Lessons learnt / reflections?
- Educational pressure functioned as a chronic stressor during crisis, particularly for disadvantaged young people.
- Digital diary methods enhanced inclusivity, participant agency, and ecological validity during periods of restricted face-to-face contact.
- Participatory engagement strengthened ethical sensitivity, interpretation, and relevance.
- The research highlighted tensions between academic success, wellbeing, and structural inequality, raising questions about the sustainability of high-stakes education systems.
Impact & influence
The findings have informed academic debates on adolescent mental health, educational stress, and inequality; contributed methodological guidance on digital qualitative diary methods; and supported policy-relevant discussions about post-pandemic educational recovery and mental health support. The work has generated further grant development, methodological capacity-building, and public engagement outputs.
Links, Outputs & Resources
Links to publications
- Lawrence, V., Miguel Esponda, G., Paphitis, S., Gayer-Anderson, C., Dorn, L., Barnes, A., Turner, A., Putzgruber, E., Maynard, E., McCombie, C., Hashi, A., Richards, T.-S., Kitisu, J., Shyan Clement-Gbede, K., Tettey, N., Davis, S., Bhui, K., Hatch, S. L., Knowles, G., & Morgan, C. (2025). Using digital qualitative diaries to understand how socioeconomic disadvantage shaped young people’s academic experiences and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative Psychology. Available here.
- McCombie, C., Esponda, G. M., Schmidt, U., & Lawrence, V. (2024). Qualitative diary methods in mental health research: A scoping review and recommendations for research and reporting. European Psychologist, 29(1), 3–16. Available here.
- McCombie, C., Miguel Esponda, G., Ouazzane, H., Knowles, G., Gayer-Anderson, C., Schmidt, U., & Lawrence, V. (2024). Qualitative Digital Diary Methods: Participant-Led Values for Ethical and Insightful Mental Health Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 23, 16094069241296189. Available here.