Jews under 30 have been the worst affected age group in the community in terms of mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic, according to an Institute for Jewish Policy Research survey.

And people who do not belong to a synagogue reported a higher level of mental distress than those affiliated to one.

Almost two out of every three surveyed felt their wellbeing had deteriorated to some extent since the start of the outbreak.

The report on wellbeing is the second in a planned series on the impact of coronavirus on the community, based on a survey of nearly 7,000 Jews.

The research was conducted in July after the easing of lockdown measures and before the latest surge in cases.

JPR found that Jews exhibited a “slightly higher level” of anxiety than the general population.

Using an 11-point scale where zero registers no anxiety and 11 is the maximum, the British average is 2.9 while the Jewish average is 3.2, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.

In July, several months after the lockdown, JPR found from its survey that the anxiety score among Jews had risen to 3.7.

The institute looked at other feelings people were experiencing such as frustration, boredom and a sense of isolation.

On a 32-point chart where zero represented no feelings of distress and 32 was severe, the mean score for the community was 13.2.

But for those aged 16 to 29, the score was 16.4.

“On every mental health indicator examined, the younger our respondents were, the more likely they were to report mental distress and the more likely they were to say that their mental state had deteriorated since the beginning of the pandemic,” JPR reported.

It speculated that this was variously due to uncertainty about the future, economic stress, poorer job opportunities and disruption to socialising.

The over-80s bore up best with a score of 10.1.

Mental distress was higher among women than men — with a score of 14.2 compared to 12.1.

The levels were “notably higher” among those who were not employed, permanently sick or disabled and those caring for pre-school age children.

Those suffering from the longer-term effects of Covid-19 exhibited higher levels of mental distress than those who were experiencing primary symptoms of the disease.

Another finding from the research was that Orthodox synagogue members were less troubled than Progressive ones.

But on the 32-point chart, those who were unaffiliated showed a higher level of distress with a score of 14.7, compared to the 12.2 of synagogue members.

It was “tempting to suggest that being part of a synagogue community is protective for one’s mental health”, JPR said.

However, it added that those experiencing mental distress “may struggle to feel comfortable or welcome in synagogue communities, or that synagogue communities do not do enough to support them, and thus they may choose not to take up membership as a result”.