The Growing Up in New Zealand COVID-19 Wellbeing Survey. Part 1: Health and Wellbeing.

<p dir="ltr">In March 2020, the New Zealand Government introduced a four-level COVID-19 alert system, with each level considering the immediate level of risk and outlining the required restrictions that legally had to be followed to minimise the risk of catching and/or spreading COVID-19. As the levels increased, restrictions increased on population movement, travel, and gatherings. The alert levels were Level 1 (Prepare); Level 2 (Reduce); Level 3 (Restrict); and Level 4 (Lockdown).</p><p dir="ltr">This policy brief draws on findings from a bespoke online COVID-19 Wellbeing Survey delivered early in the first nationwide lockdown in May 2020 when the country was at COVID-19 Alert Levels 2 and 3 and completed by 2,421 children aged 10-11 years participating in the <i>Growing Up in New Zealand</i> longitudinal study. The survey provided the opportunity to: 1) determine the children’s experiences during Alert Levels 2 - 4, including their health and mental wellbeing, schooling, connectedness, media use, and nutrition; and 2) ascertain the level of engagement by the cohort in a bespoke online digital data collection process. </p><p dir="ltr">This report focusses on the health and mental wellbeing outcomes from the survey and compares the findings to when the children were approximately eight years of age.</p>