🔍💡 Youth mental health: a decade of documented deterioration, accumulating risks and responses that are still too late. Give more space to prevention and low-threshold support #YouthMentalHealth📱🌍 School pressures, economic insecurity, social media, climate of anxiety: the OECD shows how these factors combine and weaken those aged 10-24. It is up to us to organise local multi-sectoral responses. #Prevention #Youth
📌 📌 This report provides a consolidated, quantified and comparative view of the deterioration of mental health among those under 25 in OECD countries, with a clear focus on adolescent girls and young people in situations of social vulnerability.
For a CLS coordinator, a head of medical-social services, a head of ASV or a CPE, it provides robust arguments to advocate for structured prevention actions (school, digital, poverty, families).It also serves as a basis for youth associations, MJC, youth information structures or local missions to justify low-threshold systems, peer support and community approaches.
The deterioration of mental health among those aged 10-24 is structural, not cyclical.
It began before COVID-19, primarily affecting adolescent girls and young people in precarious situations, and is fueled by intertwined factors (academic pressure, socio-economic insecurity, digital usage, climate of anxiety). Regions must integrate it as a sustainable priority in youth, educational, social, and health policies, not as a 'post-Covid parenthesis'.
The response can no longer be solely medical and delayed: it must be local, low-threshold, and intersectoral.
Local actors (municipalities, departments, local missions, schools, youth structures, medical-social organisations, associations) play a decisive role in creating protective environments, simple and accessible reception places, prevention actions in everyday life, and coordinated pathways with specialised care, relying on the voices and lived expertise of young people.
Source: 📒 The Mental Health of Children, Adolescents and Young People in the 21st Century
✍️ Child, Adolescent and Youth Mental Health in the 21st Century - Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), under the responsibility of the Secretary-General.
📜🔗LINK to the source
Number of pages: 88
1. Analytical summary
Context and issues: a slow, deep, and unequal deterioration
The report shows that in almost all OECD countries with time series data, indicators of psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and poor mental health among 10-24 year olds have deteriorated between 2012 and 2022, with annual increases of 3 to 16% depending on the country. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a trend that had already begun in the mid-2010s, with a peak in distress around 2020-2021, followed by a slight improvement at times without returning to previous levels. Adolescent girls and young women, older adolescents, and young people in socio-economic disadvantage appear to be particularly affected, with higher and rapidly increasing levels of symptoms, somatic complaints, and hospitalisations for self-harm. Self-harm attempts, particularly among girls aged 10-17, are significantly increasing in several countries, while suicides remain overall stable and relatively rare at these ages, despite some concerning local increases. The report emphasises the limitations of the available data (few representative national series, heterogeneous indicators, evolving stigma), while concluding unequivocally that there has been a real deterioration in the mental well-being of young people. This deterioration is interpreted as the result of multiple and cumulative pressures: digitalisation, media exposure to crises, academic pressures, inequalities, and socio-economic uncertainties.
Operational contributions: towards structured prevention and low-threshold responses
The report proposes a framework for action centred around three axes: prevention and strengthening of resilience (socio-emotional skills, mental health literacy, support for families), development of low-threshold and youth-adapted services (community services, peer supporters, models like headspace, @ease), and action on social determinants (poverty, housing, educational and professional pathways). It emphasises the importance of protective environments (family, school, peers, housing, digital) and recommends moving away from a model solely focused on specialised and late responses to invest in early, cross-cutting, and accessible approaches without formal referral. Digital policies (bans on phones in schools, age restrictions on social media, 'age assurance' measures) are presented as expanding, but their real impact on mental health is still deemed uncertain, necessitating rigorous evaluations before generalisation. The report advocates for a significant improvement in data systems (regular surveys, harmonised indicators, better characterisation of digital exposures and socio-economic vulnerabilities) and for the systematic participation of young people in the design and evaluation of policies. Finally, it aligns with the ongoing work of the OECD on mental health systems and good practices in promotion and prevention, providing complementary arguments for national and local strategies focused on youth.
2. Key points of the document
A clear and documented deterioration in the mental health of young people (pp. 8-26, 69-71)
The report highlights, based on national and international data, a marked increase in psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and poor mental health among 10-24 year olds in the majority of OECD countries, with few examples of improvement.
A major burden of early-onset mental disorders (p. 13-16)
IHME analyses show that about one in five young people aged 10-25 lives with a mental or neurodevelopmental disorder, with a peak prevalence in adolescence and early adulthood, and disorders such as anxiety, depression, behavioural disorders, eating disorders, and addictions that strongly structure the burden of morbidity.
Marked gender, age, and social inequalities (p. 24-27)
Fifteen-year-old girls report significantly more somatic complaints and feelings of 'feeling low' than boys, with a faster increase over the last decade, and young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, minorities, or indigenous populations present higher risk levels and more difficult access to appropriate care.
Multiple and intertwined risk factors, including digital (p. 40-58)
Chapter 2 describes the intersection of factors: intensive use of screens and social media, cyberbullying, exposure to anxiety-inducing content, climate anxiety, academic pressures, economic insecurity, discrimination, with cumulative effects rather than a 'single factor' explaining the crisis.
A political response still too focused on specialised care (p. 69-82)
Experts consider that the level of mental health support is 'too low' in most countries, with responses often being high-threshold (specialist consultations, hospitalisations) while the practices deemed most promising are low-threshold, community-based, holistic, and co-constructed with young people.
3. Action points for local stakeholders
Strengthen socio-emotional skills and mental health literacy in schools (pp. 69-76)
Systematically implement structured programmes for socio-emotional learning and mental health literacy in schools (primary, secondary, high school), also involving parents, to equip young people to face stress, emotions, and early identification of difficulties.
Develop low-threshold, generalist, and peer-support systems (pp. 72-74, 81-82)
Draw inspiration from models like headspace (Australia) or @ease (Netherlands) to create or adapt youth welcoming spaces that are free, anonymous, walk-in, and staffed by trained peers, allowing for intervention before the onset of severe disorders and linking to specialised services if needed.
Integrate young people's mental health into local social and educational policies (pp. 53-56, 71-72)
Explicitly include young people's mental health in local health contracts, territorial educational projects, poverty plans, and youth strategies, particularly targeting the reduction of excessive school pressures, material insecurity, and disruptions in pathways (dropout, non-utilisation).
Approach digital technology as a living environment to be regulated and equipped (pp. 44-52, 76-79)
Supporting young people in managing screen time, sleep, and exposure to content, while ensuring they are not cut off from their online resources (support communities, reliable information), and locally assessing the effects of measures such as the ban on phones in class.
Structuring the collection of local data and the participation of young people (pp. 79-82)
Establishing regular systems for collecting indicators at the territorial level (anonymous questionnaires in institutions, youth services, medico-social structures) and dialogue instances with young people (committees, panels) to adjust actions to real needs and monitor developments.
4. Additional references
🔍➕ For more information, see the articles referenced by "Pratiques en Santé" on the topic of mental health ➡️🔗https://pratiquesensante.odoo.com/4-2-sante-mentale-et-psychique
5. Cross-sectional analysis — values of Pratiques en Santé
Literacy: The report emphasises the need for mental health literacy programmes for young people, families, and frontline professionals, but does not provide detailed educational tools; it is a framework rather than a toolbox.
Empowerment: The participation of young people is recommended (consultation, co-design of services), but remains poorly detailed in terms of concrete methods of co-design or participatory evaluation.
Participation: Interviews with experts and consideration of subjective data from young people (surveys) are valued, but the mechanisms for institutionalised co-construction with young people are poorly described.
Community health: The report supports community approaches (local services, peer supporters, school-family-community links) as key responses, particularly for low-threshold services.
Ethics: It mentions the risks of stigma, caution in interpreting the increase in symptoms, and biases related to missing or non-comparable data, but does not thoroughly address the ethical dilemmas surrounding digital or coercive interventions.
Human rights: Equity, inclusion, and attention to vulnerable groups (poverty, minorities, LGBTQI+, indigenous peoples) are recognised as major issues, but the legal translation (rights, remedies) is not detailed.
Intersectorality: The report emphasises the need for joint action across health-education-social-employment-digital sectors, relying on existing OECD recommendations on integrated mental health, skills, and work policies.
Partnership: Collaborative models are mentioned (e.g. headspace-type networks that combine health, social services, education, community), without a complete operational description but with clear messages on shared governance.
Combating discrimination: Discrimination and inequalities (origin, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, gender identity) are identified as amplifying distress and limiting access to care, but the report does not develop a specific anti-discrimination strategy; it mainly advocates for improved data and cultural accessibility of services.
6. Assessment of the reliability of the resource
Scientific relevance :
The report is based on a very large corpus of data: national series, international surveys (HBSC, IHME, YRBSS, etc.), systematic reviews, and international commissions (Lancet, GBD), with precisely detailed references.
The methodology is transparent about the limitations: heterogeneity of indicators, evolution of stigma, data gaps, risks of overinterpretation of somatic symptoms.
Validation by clinical experts and decision-makers, through semi-structured interviews, strengthens the robustness of the interpretation.
Operational relevance :
The report does not provide 'turnkey' tools, but offers a clear strategic framework to guide local policies and programmes: early prevention, low threshold, intersectorality, strengthening of data.
Examples of initiatives (headspace, @ease, various community services) and OECD references on best prevention practices allow local actors to draw inspiration from already proven models.
Its reliability is high for supporting advocacy, developing territorial diagnostics, and structuring intersectoral strategies, but less so for designing a facilitation tool or a directly usable clinical protocol.
8. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
From when do we observe the deterioration of young people's mental health? (pp. 8-10, 16-21)
The report shows that, in several countries, indicators of distress and poor mental health began to rise as early as the mid-2010s, before the pandemic, with an acceleration during 2020-2021 and sometimes a slight decline afterwards without returning to previous levels.
Which groups of young people are most affected by mental health issues or distress? (p. 24‑27, 26‑29)
Adolescent girls and young women, older adolescents (15‑19 years), and young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds show higher levels of symptoms, somatic complaints, and distress, and certain minorities (ethnic, indigenous, LGBTQI+) are also identified as being at greater risk.
Is the COVID‑19 pandemic the main cause of the youth mental health crisis? (p. 20‑23)
No, the pandemic has exacerbated an already existing trend; data from several countries show that distress was already increasing before 2020, and while some indicators improve after the peak of the pandemic, they remain above pre-pandemic levels.
What are the main risk factors identified for young people's mental health? (p. 40‑58)
The report emphasises a set of factors: problematic digital use, lack of sleep, cyberbullying, exposure to crises (climate, conflicts, instability), academic pressures, poverty, economic insecurity, discrimination, and family difficulties, which act cumulatively.
Are youth suicides increasing everywhere? (p. 22‑25)
Overall, suicides among those under 25 remain stable or slightly decrease in many countries, although some countries show concerning increases in certain sub-groups, while hospitalisations for self-harm, particularly among girls, are rising sharply.
What responses are considered the most promising by the consulted experts? (p. 69‑74)
Experts favour preventive approaches, low-threshold services that are accessible without formal referral, with a peer support component, family integration, 'mental health-friendly' school environments, and pathways to specialised services when necessary.
Why does the report emphasise data and monitoring so much? (pp. 79-82)
Less than a third of OECD countries have regular representative national data on the mental health of young people; without harmonised and recent indicators, it is difficult to guide priorities, assess policies (e.g. phone bans, age limits on social media), and identify inequalities, hence the call to strengthen monitoring systems.
9. Rewriting in Easy Read
Easy Read Title
The mental health of young people today
Easy Read Summary – Context
The mental health of young people is getting worse in many countries.
This has been happening for several years, even before COVID-19.
Girls and young people in difficult situations are more affected.
Some young people self-harm more often.
Suicides remain rare, but must be monitored.
The data is not perfect, but the trend is clear.
Easy Read Summary – What the report proposes
We need to act early to protect the mental health of young people.
Schools must help young people manage their emotions and stress.
We need simple, free, and non-judgmental support places.
Young people should be able to talk to professionals and peers.
Policies must also reduce poverty and insecurity.
We need to better measure the mental health status of young people over time.
Key points FALC
Many mental disorders begin in adolescence.
About one in five young people has a mental disorder or behavioural issue.
Fifteen-year-old girls often feel worse than boys.
Screen use can help or harm, depending on how it is used.
Lack of sleep and cyberbullying increase distress.
COVID-19 has worsened an already fragile situation.
Current responses often come too late and are too complex.
Young people need places close to home that are easily accessible.