The anonymous online survey (SoSci Survey) was administered to adolescents and young adults at three timepoints, with two corresponding to two infection “waves”: first at the height of the first pandemic (T1) from May 22nd to June 19th, 2020, and second at the beginning of the second wave (T2) from September 11th to October 23rd, 2020, before the beginning of the vaccination campaign. The third assessment was conducted between May 18th and June 8th, 2021, in the above two countries, after vaccines had been available in both countries for about half a year. We analyzed the psychological well-being of migrant and non-migrant young people aged between 15 and 25 years after the COVID-19 vaccination campaign period.
Austria and Turkey followed different pandemic control strategies and have different cultures, but both suffered from high COVID-19 prevalence. For the present study we compared the mental health and psychological well-being of young people living in Austria and Turkey with and without migration background before and after the main vaccination campaigns. In the initial phase, the COVID-19 vaccination was only available for elderly adults and those belonging to certain at-risk groups such as people who have diabetes, heart disease, etc., or for staff working in the health-care system. This facet of the vaccination campaign was the same in both Austria and Turkey. As vaccines had been seen as a part of the solution for the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was quite important to also analyze the psychosocial impact of the vaccination campaign for young people. Therefore, we analyzed the differences in mental health and psychological well-being before and after the initial vaccination campaign among participants 15-25 years of age, split into those under 18 and those over 17.
Between May 18th and June 8th, 2021, we conducted this online survey via social media and e-mails, after the COVID-19 vaccination had been available in Austria and Turkey for approximately half a year.
For the comparison, we merged the two first data sets on psychosocial well-being during waves 1 and 2 (T1 and T2), as they were both before the vaccination campaign period (BV). The BV period therefore includes participants who filled out our survey from May to June 2020 (originally: T1) and from September to October 2020 (T2). We compared results to a similar sample of young adults taken after the vaccination campaign period (AV). We assessed mental health, psychological well-being, experiences, and concrete individual fears and cognitions related to the pandemic in migrants and native populations in both countries. See (Akkaya-Kalayci et al., 2020 ) and (Özlü-Erkilic et al., 2021 (link)) for a detailed description of the T1 and T2 timepoints.
Austria and Turkey followed different pandemic control strategies and have different cultures, but both suffered from high COVID-19 prevalence. For the present study we compared the mental health and psychological well-being of young people living in Austria and Turkey with and without migration background before and after the main vaccination campaigns. In the initial phase, the COVID-19 vaccination was only available for elderly adults and those belonging to certain at-risk groups such as people who have diabetes, heart disease, etc., or for staff working in the health-care system. This facet of the vaccination campaign was the same in both Austria and Turkey. As vaccines had been seen as a part of the solution for the still ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it was quite important to also analyze the psychosocial impact of the vaccination campaign for young people. Therefore, we analyzed the differences in mental health and psychological well-being before and after the initial vaccination campaign among participants 15-25 years of age, split into those under 18 and those over 17.
Between May 18th and June 8th, 2021, we conducted this online survey via social media and e-mails, after the COVID-19 vaccination had been available in Austria and Turkey for approximately half a year.
For the comparison, we merged the two first data sets on psychosocial well-being during waves 1 and 2 (T1 and T2), as they were both before the vaccination campaign period (BV). The BV period therefore includes participants who filled out our survey from May to June 2020 (originally: T1) and from September to October 2020 (T2). We compared results to a similar sample of young adults taken after the vaccination campaign period (AV). We assessed mental health, psychological well-being, experiences, and concrete individual fears and cognitions related to the pandemic in migrants and native populations in both countries. See (Akkaya-Kalayci et al., 2020 ) and (Özlü-Erkilic et al., 2021 (link)) for a detailed description of the T1 and T2 timepoints.
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