Three in four mental ill-health disorders occur by the age of 25, with 15 being the peak onset age, a new report on youth mental health has found.
Psychiatrists, psychologists and academics worked with young people from Australia, Europe, North America, and Asia to analyse the global state of youth mental health.
The report said the mental wellbeing of young people is at a “dangerous phase”. It criticised governments for failing to prioritise “a major source of preventable premature deaths”.
It comes ahead of a meeting between Australian health and mental health ministers on Friday.
Report
The Lancet Psychiatry Commission has released its youth mental health policy paper.
Researchers consulted with “youth commissioners” from Australia, Zambia, Morocco, Canada, India, Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Brazil and Canada.
Youth mental health organisation Orygen, based in Australia, called it the “first definitive guide to youth mental health globally”.
The report called for better investment in “research, models of care and access to youth mental health care for young people everywhere.”
Findings
Researchers noted a spike in mental disorders and self-harm rates in the years between childhood and adulthood.
Mental ill-health makes up 45% of disease in 10 to 24-year-olds. However, “2% of global health budgets” are allocated to “addressing it.”
The report said this finding “highlights the gap between the prevalence and impact of mental ill-health among young people and the insufficient policy and funding responses from governments”.
Australia
There’s been a 50% jump in mental health disorders in Australians aged 16-24 since 2007. A third of Australians in this age range experienced anxiety in 2023.
Suicide is the leading cause of death among 15-44 year olds. The report noted disproportionately high suicide rates among First Nations youth.
“Substantially higher rates of suicide than the general population” were also recorded in Indigenous youth populations in Canada, the U.S. and India.
The cause?
The Commission identified “megatrends”, or larger forces, from its analysis that have contributed to declining mental health over the past two decades.
It listed the most significant factors as:
- Climate change
- Harmful social media
- Insecure employment
- Housing crisis
- Intergenerational inequality
- Political polarisation
Funding
The Commission found the quality of mental health care around the world “lags well behind” physical care standards.
The report attributed this to “severe misunderstanding, prejudice,
and neglect” around mental health care.
It found that “even in the richest countries”, only around half of mental health needs were being met. According to the analysis, people with a range of mental illnesses die 15–20 years earlier than the general population.
Call to action
The report detailed several ways government funding could be used to help tackle the global mental health crisis.
Its proposals centred around better awareness, increasing prevention programmes, and developing online tools.
Researchers also pointed to ‘mental health first aid training,’ with initiatives currently being trialled in the U.S. and Australia.
Similar to first aid training for physical injuries, the programs are aimed at teaching people how to respond to mental health challenges.
Government meeting
Today’s findings come ahead of a mental health meeting between federal, state, and territory health ministers on Friday.
A joint statement from 80 Australian mental health organisations has called on ministers to agree to a national mental health support services funding plan.
“Government investment… is simply not matching the level of need evident in our community,” Mental Health Australia CEO Carolyn Nikoloski said.
