Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of school-going adolescents: insights from Dhaka city, Bangladesh

The pandemic has affected every walk of life, and mental health is no exception. Bangladesh has been operating under a resource crisis, and this crisis has incurred and is incurring a governance priority dilemma. Unending vacations of the educational institutions are taxing our students' mental serenity, and among those, adolescents are more vulnerable. Unending leaves of the educational institutions are taxing our students' mental peace, and among those, adolescents are more susceptible. Across the globe, a good number of studies have been performed, and Bangladesh is no exception. However, adolescents have received less attention in those studies, and this paper fills the gap. This explorative study opted for a qualitative method that covered data collection like in-depth interviews among 60 respondents. This study aims to simultaneously unveil the causes of mental dissonance among adolescents and the impact of infection prevention measures (e.g., lockdown) on adolescents' mental health in the capital city of Bangladesh. This study also recommends a possible way out of this crisis. The study revealed that prolonged school closure, fear of the disease, disruption in education, excessive use of digital devices, and the culture of ignoring adolescents' mental health are responsible for pausing detrimental effects on adolescents' mental health. Adolescents suffered from mental health issues like stress, anxiety, depression, and sleeping disorders during the lockdown.