The Network for Health Research in Disasters (GOR Network) publishes a quarterly update on this page, summarising key results from survey research and data from primary care providers. A research update on adults is published every six months. The aim is to provide information to the municipalities, the provinces and the national government of the Netherlands to assist them in formulating policies to facilitate better pandemic preparedness and to mitigate the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Decrease in mental well-being 

Between March and June 2025, the average score on mental well-being among young people dropped from 69 to 67. A higher percentage of young people felt lonely (rising from 43% to 48%), more of them experienced stress (from 46% to 48%) and more of them reported having serious thoughts about suicide (from 13% to 15%). 

Compared to three months earlier, there was a slight decrease in young people who felt happy most of the time (from 83% to 81%), but that percentage in March was relatively high for a spring survey. The number of young people who felt confident about the future also stabilised (45%), after decreasing in previous survey rounds. 

Fewer physical symptoms, but increase in post-COVID

Slightly fewer young people often or very often suffered from one or more physical symptoms in the four weeks before completing the survey: 53% in June, compared to 55% in March. In this survey round, 4.1% of young people reported that they had long-term symptoms after having COVID-19 (post-COVID), and 10.2% reported that they had previously had post-COVID, but had since recovered. In the previous round, those figures were 2.4% and 8.4%. It is not completely clear what caused the increase, but 15% of young people with persistent symptoms did indicate that they had had symptoms for less than six months when they took the survey. 

Social acknowledgement of post-COVID

Young adults aged 18 to 25 years who had post-COVID or had recovered from post-COVID when they filled in the survey did not experience strong social acknowledgement of their situation. Nevertheless, 57% felt that others showed them enough sympathy and 59% agreed that friends felt sympathy for what had happened to them. However, 45% felt that others were not really able to understand what they are or were going through. Besides, in general young adults partially agree that their family acknowledge their experiences resulting from post-COVID. For example, 59% felt that their family showed understanding for their situation, or had done so in the past. In contrast, 50% held the opinion that their family underestimated their experiences.

Primary care data shows increase in suicide attempts 

In the second quarter of 2025, there was an increase in young people contacting the GP because of suicide-related thoughts and attempts. The number of GP contacts related to this topic was already on the increase before the pandemic, but has been rising more sharply since then. In the second quarter, the number of reported GP contacts related to this topic was 70% higher than in the same period in 2019. This is the highest level measured so far. Young people also went to the GP more often for anxiety, an increase of 19% compared to the same period in 2019. 

Conversely, young people went to the GP less often for feelings of depression. There is a downward trend here, showing 5% fewer reported GP contacts in this quarter than the same quarter in 2019. This applies to people who have had contact with their GP at that time; people who are on a waiting list or are already receiving treatment are not included in this category.