Key factors include income, employment, socioeconomic status, education, food security, housing, social support, discrimination, childhood adversity, neighbourhood conditions, and access to affordable health care (87–89). Figure 2 illustrates the trends in youth mental health disorders from 1996 to 2023 (the most recent years of observation in the studies reviewed). Youth mental health trends were categorized as increasing, stable/mixed (e.g., diverging trends Military child well-being toolkit resources for different disorders/symptoms), or decreasing.
« Horizon likes to encourage our community to lock and talk, which means to lock firearms and medications and talk about mental health and suicide openly within the family, » Smith said. Horizon hopes to help mitigate some of those risk factors from guns and drugs in mental health incidents. The theme for 2025 was Know Yourself, Grow Yourself, with the aim to equip and empower children and young people across the UK to embrace self-awareness and explore what it means to them. Children’s Mental Health Week is observed in February each year, organised by place2be to highlight the rising mental health issue in children. No prior mental health experience is needed – just your motivation and commitment to youth work!
YAM was evaluated in EU-wide Randomized Controlled Trial in which more than 11,000 youth participated. YAM has been conducted with more than 170,000 teenagers in 17 countries, and more than 1,600 people have been trained as YAM Instructors worldwide. Learn strategies to maintain healthy relationships with technology while protecting your mental wellbeing. Explore available support services at school, from counselors to accommodations for mental wellness. Finding the right support shouldn’t be one of them.
Resources for Researchers
- Worse still there has been a parallel rise in rates of youth mental ill-health, increased help-seeking and greater need for accessible and safe mental health services among young people (30, 201).
- Join us, download our free resources and take part in the week!
- Mental health isn’t about weakness; it’s about humanity.
- You can use the lifeline services mentioned above for yourself, or talk to someone for advice if you are concerned for a loved one.
- A range of factors including government inaction on climate change, social media exposure, and social challenges such as housing instability, food insecurity, and increased conflict influence this relationship between climate change and young people’s mental health (177, 178, 181–183).
- Mental health and social services already need to be urgently expanded to meet the rising needs of young people and offset the likelihood of persistent mental health problems into later adulthood, including early parenthood (13).
Suicidal ideation, especially in combination with depression, requires immediate attention. Teenagers today are facing mental health challenges at historic levels. After YAM, young people often tell us that they feel more confident in supporting a friend in need.
A time-trends graph of overall youth mental health disorders was created using the most recent year of observation in the studies reviewed in this paper. Australia’s national survey of mental health recently found that the 12-month prevalence of mental disorders (i.e., anxiety, affective and substance use disorders) among young people had increased by 50% over the past 15 years, disproportionately affecting females (20). While depression and anxiety can impact people of all ages (3–5), youth aged 10–24 are at a higher risk of experiencing these and other mental disorders (6–9). We document mental health trends since the mid-1990s, focusing on mental and substance use disorders among young people and their current needs.
What is suicide?
Don’t just rely on social media to self-diagnose mental issues, but also seek out professional and research-backed guidance. Increased awareness of mental illness is useful, and this can help reduce stigma while also promoting habits that support wellness. With clients, I use the metaphor of junk food when discussing social media. It takes deliberation to detach from the distractions and restore physical and mental health. The time is now for teens and young adults to activate and improve mental health in America.
I’m So Stressed Out!
Conduct disorder (involving symptoms of destructive or challenging behaviour) occurs among 3.3% of 10–14-year-olds and 1.8% of 15–19-year-olds (1). Anxiety and depressive disorders can profoundly affect school attendance and schoolwork. Depression is estimated to occur among 1.3% of adolescents aged 10–14 years, and 3.4% of 15–19-year-olds (1). It is estimated that 4.1% of 10–14-year-olds and 5.3% of 15–19-year-olds experience an anxiety disorder (1). Other important determinants include the quality of their home life and relationships with peers. Protective and supportive environments in the family, at school and in the wider community are important.