Health

Global research warns of accelerating mental health problems and illness among young people

Study finds in many countries the mental health of young people has declined over the past two decades and was made worse by Covid and the measures taken to contain it

Students from the Patrician Academy in Mallow, Co Cork, have developed Fishing for Friends, a mental health initiative to encourage their peers to fish and talk. Photograph: Clare Keogh
Students from the Patrician Academy in Mallow, Co Cork, have developed Fishing for Friends, a mental health initiative to encourage their peers to fish and talk. Photograph: Clare Keogh
Kevin O'Sullivan
Thu Aug 15 2024 - 21:54

The scale of accelerating mental health problems and illness among young people risks undermining “the cohesion and prosperity of societies around the world”, according to an international study.

Intergenerational inequality, unregulated social media, insecure employment and the climate crisis are driving the global surge in mental ill health among young people, it warns. “Mental ill health, which has been the leading health and social issue impacting the lives and futures of young people for decades, has entered a dangerous phase,” the study published by The Lancet Psychiatry Journal adds.

The study, conducted by more than 50 authors including psychologist Prof Barbara Dooley of University College Dublin, is the culmination of years of research.

The neglect of youth mental health “is amplified by the perverse and self-defeating ambivalence that society continues to display towards young people and their needs”, it says. In many countries the mental health of young people has been declining over the past two decades and was worsened by “the Covid-19 pandemic, the measures taken to contain it and its aftermath”.

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There is an urgent need to address these driving factors and improve mental health treatments for young people as mental illnesses have their peak onset at age 15 years, it says. Early intervention is crucial “to stymie rates of premature death, disability and lost potential – all of which have escalated over the past 20 years”.

The report was compiled by Orygen – Australia’s centre of excellence in youth mental health. Mental illness accounts for 45 per cent of the overall burden of disease in individuals aged 10-24 years globally, while the need for mental health support for this age bracket has risen by 50 per cent in the past two decades, it says.

Orygen director Prof Patrick McGorry said the study was a “major step” towards recognising youth mental health as an “international health priority”.

In 2011 the World Economic Forum reported that among non-communicable diseases, mental illness was the largest source of loss of gross domestic product (GDP) globally.

“These human impacts and economic losses largely stem from the timing of their onset in life, combined with worldwide neglect of mental illness due to stigma and discrimination within healthcare and medical research. Mental illness has been described as a scandal and a form of self-harm inflicted by society upon itself,” the researchers note.

“Insufficient action on climate change, an unregulated and unsafe digital world and social media environment, and social exclusion as reflected by insecure employment, reduced access to affordable housing, and intergenerational inequality have combined to create a bleak present and future for young people in many countries,” it adds.

There are encouraging signs, however, suggesting “the danger is being sensed and some responses are emerging”, it finds – notably in the United States where surgeon general Dr Vivek Murthy warned recently that social media carried a “profound risk of harm” and was fuelling the youth mental health crisis.

“However, the crisis is global and demands forensic analysis of the megatrends and the malleable risk and protective factors that are influencing it, and a global strategy that can catalyse national and local action plans to counter it,” The Lancet study adds.

“The youth mental health crisis is of the utmost importance globally given how dependent societies are on the capacities and contributions of young people. As long as so many emerging adults die prematurely, are consigned to a life of welfare dependency, are denied sufficient respect and nurture, and languish in precarity, society itself will become more precarious. The youth mental health crisis is more than a warning sign, and now might be our last chance to act.”

Kevin O'Sullivan

Kevin O'Sullivan

Kevin O'Sullivan is Environment and Science Editor and former editor of The Irish Times