You may known that the last decade has seen a rise in overall mental health disorders in 11-15-year-olds, but did you know this is mainly the result of an increase in emotional disorders?
More recent data, from the 2022 Mental Health in Children and Young People (MHCYP) survey, adds more to the story.1In 2017, approximately 1 in 9 youngsters between the ages of 6 and 16 were reported to have a probable mental health disorder. Fast forward to 2021, and that figure has escalated to a troubling 1 in 6. Remarkably, there was no discernible difference between the years 2020 and 2021 so this rapid increase occurred over a 3-year period at most (2018-2020). In 2023 it's climbed again to 1 in 5 so clearly things are not improving for young people's mental health.
It's as if there was a silent, growing storm brewing among and within young people, and the pandemic mainly exposed it. Whether or not this was due to heightened awareness about young people’s mental health which led to higher diagnoses, or due to other reasons, we can’t be sure.
Chart data source:
https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-of-children-and-young-people-in-england/2017/2017#resources