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Paper short abstract:

Repeated Covid-19 lockdowns, ensuing unemployment and food insecurity in Bangladesh led to adolescents/youth facing social isolation, disruptions in education and lives, exacerbating vulnerabilities. The paper explores the impact of challenges faced on mental well-being, aspirations and resilience.

Paper long abstract:

Globally, one in seven adolescents suffers from a mental health disorder, with many more experiencing moderate distresses (WHO, 2021). Adolescents and young people in low- and middle-income countries face compounded challenges, including limited access to mental health services and heightened exposure to poverty, conflict, and fragility, increasing mental illness risks.

In Bangladesh, the prolonged Covid-19 lockdowns and school closures, social isolation, disrupted lives, affecting livelihoods, food security, and mental wellbeing for those who remain disadvantaged, further exacerbating their vulnerabilities. Research highlights the emergence of new poverty and urban-to-rural migration during this period. This study examines the wide range of psycho-social stressors faced by adolescents and young people in Bangladesh, in rural and urban areas, with a focus on slum settlements.

We draw on two sets of data; from The Gender and Adolescence Programme (GAGE); with two rounds of qualitative data from two age cohorts of 130 adolescents, their parents and teachers from three sites of low-income area in Dhaka and both urban and rural schools in Chittagong and Sylhet divisions of Bangladesh, and from ARISE longitudinal ethnographic data (2020-2022) of 34 adolescents and young people and their families in urban low-income settlements in Dhaka city. Findings reveal that disruptions to education, family finances, food and job insecurity, and uncertainties about the future were major stressors. This paper explores the impact of these challenges on adolescents' mental health and well-being, aspirations, and resilience during and after the Covid-19 crisis.