In June 2020, we examined the early impacts of COVID-19 and national ‘lockdown’ restrictions on the Our Lives cohort, a group of young adults from across Queensland, Australia.
We collected data from 1,094 cohort members (aged 27) comprising a diverse cross-section of the QLD population in this age group. This is one of very few Australian studies drawing on cohort data collected prior to 2020 to help understand COVID-19’s impact on young people.
This report draws on rich survey and interview data from the Our Lives cohort to examine five questions:
- What young Queenslanders regard as the main impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on their work, study, housing, and relationships;
- How COVID-19 has affected their trust in social and civic institutions;
- Their attitudes towards COVID-19 and related restrictions;
- The impact of the pandemic on their mental health; and
- Their acceptance of public health surveillance, in the form of the COVIDSafe contact tracing app.
The findings presented in this report show that COVID-19 has posed heightened and unevenly distributed risks to the social, economic and psychological well-being of the Our Lives cohort and the young adults they represent.
Download the COVID-19 Impact Snapshot (PNG, 2.9MB)
Download the full COVID-19 Impact Findings Report (PDF, 2.6MB)