There has been a sharp rise in the number of older teenagers who most likely have a mental health disorder, according to new data.
One in four 17 to 19-year-olds are now suffering serious mental distress, which is up from one in six last year, according to the Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2022 report. Experts attribute the rise to the impact of the covid pandemic as well as issues such as the rising cost of living.
A new report covering England, from NHS Digital, also shows that around one in five children under 16 also reach the threshold for probably having a mental health disorder. Issues facing children and teenagers include depression, eating disorders, anxiety, self-harming, sleeping problems, and profound loneliness.
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Many of the young people surveyed reported being worried about the impact the covid had on their schooling, while others were struggling with social media and online bullying. The study found 20% of boys aged between seven and 10 had a probable mental health disorder.
The proportion of 17 to 19-year-olds with a probable mental health disorder increased from 17% in 2021 to 26% in 2022. Back in 2017, it was 10%, and rose to 18% during the pandemic. Among seven to 16-year-olds, the percentage with a probable disorder was 18% in 2022, up from 12% in 2017, but similar to the figures for 2020 and 2021.
For those aged seven to 10 in 2022, probable mental health disorders were nearly twice as high in boys (20%) as in girls (11%). However, the figure is much higher in young women aged 17 to 24 (31%) than in young men (13%).
Dr Tamsin Newlove-Delgado, senior clinical lecturer and honorary consultant in child public mental health at the University of Exeter, said the impact of Covid-19 had been “a shock to the system in terms of impacts on people’s education, family, home lives and socialising.”
She added: “And in particular, when you think about the 17 to 19-year-olds or the older teenagers, this age range is one where it’s often quite a time of stressful change for young people, they’re moving from childhood to adulthood, they’re moving through different life stages and that can already be stressful.
“For this cohort of young people, they will have been going through those changes during covid with all the various uncertainties that might accompany that. You can imagine that would have a particular impact on them.”
She said the “wider global uncertainties and cost-of-living crisis” will also have “impacts on their mental health”. The report included a sample of 2,866 children and young people who are now aged between seven and 24, while parents of those aged seven to 16 also provided information.
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