Evidence and research on youth employment
Understanding young people’s declining mental health
Exploring drivers of worsening mental health among 14-24 year olds through a first-of-its-kind study for England
The systems challenge
Youth unemployment can be both a cause and a consequence of poor mental health. The growth of mental ill health among young people is fueling the rising level of youth economic inactivity.
Our aim
With nearly 1 million (1 in 8) young people not in education, employment or training, we need to know more about how mental health and youth unemployment interact, through identifying, testing and promoting evidence-based interventions
What did we do?
To understand the root causes of young people’s worsening mental health in England, we commissioned the University of Manchester to conduct a comprehensive research project focused on 14 to 24 year olds.
This is the first research of its kind to explore reasons behind the population-level rise in youth mental health problems.
Mental Health Advisory Group
The research was supported by an independent advisory group of clinicians, leading academics, and policy stakeholders, chaired by Baroness Luciana Berger, former Shadow Cabinet Minister for Mental Health.
Given young people’s worsening mental health is a key driver of the growing NEET rate, it is crucial we better understand what is causing the increasing rates of youth mental health issues; because if we don't understand what’s driving this, we can’t meaningfully design and invest in interventions that we know will work for young people and which they so desperately need.
Barry Fletcher - CEO, Youth Futures Foundation
Key insights
The research examined ten potential causes of young people’s declining mental health, chosen in consultation with experts spanning psychology, psychiatry, education, epidemiology and economics.
The drivers most strongly supported by the evidence were:
Worsening sleep quality
Economic precarity and affordability pressures – particularly housing and insecure employment
Reduction in children and youth services
Social media and smartphone use
Findings indicate the drivers of mental health are far more complex and wide-ranging than popular narratives suggest.
The study also provides evidence that the decline in young people’s mental health is real – and not merely a result of increased symptom recognition, greater awareness, overdiagnosis, or reduced resilience.
With young people’s mental health deteriorating at such a significant level, the case for action has never been clearer. Some claim the rise in youth mental health problems is purely the result of increased awareness and reporting and a culture of declaring mild, everyday symptoms as mental illness. This study stands as an unequivocal rebuttal to that charge that we must take seriously. In particular, we must have a national conversation about declining sleep quality and how important it is for young people’s mental health.
Baroness Luciana Berger - Independent Chair, Youth Futures Foundation's Mental Health Advisory Group
This report shows that the decline in young people’s mental health is not just a personal issue but a result of deep-rooted problems like financial insecurity, poor sleep and the devastating loss of youth services. Mental ill health is rising alongside economic inactivity and it is clear we need urgent investment in support that is preventative, accessible and truly inclusive. As a young person, I am tired of being told to be resilient while everything around us is falling apart and that we are not broken, we are overwhelmed and we need support that actually listens, shows up and does not give up on us.
Roismi Rajakumar Mangrove - Future Voices Group Ambassador