More than half of Victorians say the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their mental health, but young people have been hit hardest.

An Ipsos poll commissioned by Nine News and The Age has found three quarters of 18 to 24-year-olds say their mental health has been impacted.

Meanwhile, just 35 per cent of those aged 55 and over said COVID-19 has had a negative effect on their mental health.

Professor of psychiatry at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre, Ian Hickie, said the lives of young people have been more interrupted than those of older Victorians.

“It’s young people, particularly in the 15 to 25 age group who are most concerned about their futures,” he told Ross and Russel.

“They’ve also been most disrupted in their school, their education, their post-school lives.

“45 per cent of job losses were in young people.”

While Australia has had great success limiting the physical effects of COVID-19, Professor Hickie says there should now be a shift.

“We now need to really concentrate on supporting young people, investing in education, employment, creative arts, the things that really matter to young people,” he said.

“Basically, are the middle aged and those in charge actually listening to the concerns of young people?”

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