The pandemic has severely affected the wellbeing of young people in particular. It is of utmost importance to gain a better understanding of how and in which way this has happened in Switzerland and which mid-term consequences with respect to wellbeing can be observed (up to four years after the start of the pandemic). Moreover, given that the pandemic required a quick policy response, most programmes and initiatives for young people were implemented in an ad-hoc manner. As a result, we lack an overview and knowledge on which approaches worked well and whether they targeted the groups most at risk. However, to draw conclusions for the future such an overview is required to examine whether policies targeted the groups most at risk. Against this background, CovidGen aims to answer two overarching research questions:
1) To what extent did the COVID-19 pandemic affect wellbeing of young people in the medium term, what were the main drivers, the groups most at risk and which protective factors mitigated negative consequences for wellbeing?
2) Were policy initiatives to support young people during the pandemic focussing on the groups most at risk, and what can we learn from them for future crises?