Defining the Problem: Mental Health

As my last (August) post highlighted[1], young people’s devotion to social media often has significant negative impacts on their mental health. Referenced in the post, for example, was research published in 2024 which revealed that in London alone 43 per cent of the 2,000 UK 18-24 year olds who responded to the study were linking their feelings of loneliness to ‘the excessive time they spent online’.[2]

By then, however, these mental health pressures, including on younger teenagers, were attracting much wider attention. A United Nations-commissioned paper published in early 2025[3] talked for example of ‘a burgeoning youth mental health crisis’ in the six English-speaking countries it covered, including the UK and Ireland. Evidence quoted in the paper linked this to ‘… intergenerational inequality’, the climate crisis and the likelihood of those with a mental health condition being outside the jobs market. As a result, over the previous decade ‘life satisfaction and happiness had fallen … particularly among young women…’ with the young overall becoming more isolated. One of the academics involved in the research explained this as:

… not so much that people are sitting there on the phone, it’s what they’re not doing. They’re not going out so much, playing with their friends, interacting with others, or having as much sex.

Evidencing the Crisis and its Causes

Detailed, often statistical, evidence has also now built up on the nature, extent and possible causes of these mental health pressures. An NHS survey focused on 16-24 year olds, published in June 2025, revealed that by 2023-24[4]:

· The proportion of this age group with a mental health problem had risen since 2007 from 17.5 per cent to 25.8 per cent.

· In the decade after 2014 the prevalence of ‘a common mental health condition’ such as panic disorder, phobias and obsessive compulsive behaviour had increased from 18.9 per cent to 25.8 per cent, with 36.1 per cent of women affected compared with 16.3 per cent of men.

· At 24.6 per cent, this age group also had the highest rates of self-harm, with here too more young women – 31.1 per cent – most affected.

· Girls and young women also had the highest rate of attempted suicide – 12.9 per cent – compared with 8 per cent of boys and 7.8 per cent of the age group overall.

According to the Office for National Statistics, between 2011-12 and 2021-22 the actual suicide rates among 15 to 25 year olds had increased by 50 per cent to 4,315 with, over the same period, the figure per 100,000 children and young people rising by 54 per cent.[5]

An article in the Guardian published in July 2026 highlighted that in recent years what was underlying these developments was that sharp fall in young people’s life satisfaction, outlined above.[6] In England, for example – compared with 62 per cent in 2010 – only 44 per cent of the 16- to 24-year olds responding to an Institute of Policy Research (IPR) study said that on this they were feeling positive. One the study’s key conclusions was thus that ‘growing up in England has become more pressured, more isolating and less enjoyable that it was even a decade ago’. More specific pressures could also be at work, such as – as revealed by UCL research published in August 2026[7] – forcing pupils to take multiple resits of failed maths and English GCSEs. This, one of the researchers suggested, could also be contributing to the rise in NEETS – young people not in education, employment or training.

Findings such as these led Sally McManus, one of the lead researchers on the NHS study, to suggest that, in relation to mental health generally, there was now ‘greater awareness and less stigma’.[8] However, Cassandara Harrison, the Chief Executive of Youth Access, a national youth advice and counselling organisation, took a much more negative message from them: that what they represented was ‘… a damning indictment of the increasingly rocky path young people are facing on their journey to adulthood’. As well as recognising that in part this was a consequence of ‘… long waiting lists for mental health support’, she pointed, too, to how ‘… cuts to youth services have left young people … facing their journey alone and unable to find their footing’.[9]

The Gender Factor

Possible causes of young men and young women’s differing experiences of the mental health pressures, indicated above, have also been examined in more detail. For example, Alexandra Topping, the Guardian’s political correspondent, started an article published in April 2025[10] by acknowledging that, with too many of them isolated, ‘a generation of young men are facing worse outcomes than young women’. She also referenced a report, ‘Lost Boys’, published in March 2025 by the Centre for Social Justice[11], which ‘noted that in education girls are outperforming boys “from nursery to university” (with) men aged 16-24 more likely to be unemployed than young women, and if in full-time work, paid on average 9% less’.

She however also presented ‘a series of less remarked upon statistics suggest(ing) that girls are far from being the winners of a zero-sum game.’ In support, she quoted from an interview she had had with the Children’s Commissioner for England, Rachel de Souza:

This is an optimistic generation, eager for change – but both boy and girls are facing pressures and influences that previous generations never imagined.

She particularly noted that over their lifetime ‘men are still likely to be paid significantly more than women, with, according to an analysis by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), their earnings “almost completely unaffected by parenthood”’. As a result ‘seven years after having their first child, ‘women’s earnings are on average less than half those of men’.

Covid and its Impacts

Unsurprisingly, perhaps, the Covid pandemic further exacerbated the mental health pressures experienced by young people. Research involving six hundred 9 to 22 year olds who had been of school-age when it struck, released in September 2025, pointed to the ‘profound, distressing and life-altering’ challenges this had posed.[12] These included:

· ‘Feelings of uncertainty, fear and anxiety’ about catching the infection, particularly amongst physically disabled children and those with health conditions.

· The ‘weight of responsibility’ many felt for caring for people at home.

· Arguments with family members and tension between adults.

· Examination cancellations.

· Frustrations about grades, resulting in ‘instances where they felt less able or inclined to go to university’.

· For those who had had a Covid bereavement, not being able to see loved ones before they died or to mourn normally afterwards.

· The ‘empty times’ of lockdowns when important milestones for their age group disappeared.

‘Empty Times’

As indicated earlier in this post, and as wider evidence also confirmed, the ‘empty times’ factor – feeling lonely and alone – was already by the time Covid arrived deeply rooted in the teenage experience. In a leader to mark Loneliness Awareness Week in June 2026, Children and Young People Now concluded that though ‘we are more connected than at any point in history… more people report feeling lonely, unseen and detached from the communities around them’.[13] With this challenge ‘nowhere … more apparent than among young people’ – especially among boys and young men – CYPN reminded readers that the young themselves were clear what they needed to address this gap was ‘somewhere to go, something to do and someone who cares about them’.

Though not mentioned in the CYPN leader, it co-incided with the release of a government paper based on research carried by the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen).[14] Aimed at ‘identify(ing) the specific risk and protective factors that shape how boys and young men experience loneliness, isolation and social connection’, two of the paper’s key messages were that:

· This group ‘face(s) specific risks linked to loneliness, yet … may be less likely to report these experiences because of stigma’; and

· ‘… loneliness among this group may be underestimated, despite evidence that it is associated with poorer mental health, social difficulties and harmful behaviours’.

It went on to dig deeper into the levels of loneliness, isolation and social connection, the risk factors related to them and the relationship between age and levels of loneliness, with the different studies examined offering contrary evidence.

Though its implications for the mental health of those involved was not explicitly explored, also potentially relevant here was the 7 per cent increase between 2024 and 2025 in the proportion of those aged between 16 and their late 20s who had consumed alcohol.[15] As one Warwick University academic commented: ‘When the future feels unstable, people are less likely to invest in long-term health and more likely to seek short-term mood boosts…’.

Policy Responses

In a Guardian article published in June 2025, Ann Bawden reported that Health Secretary Wes Streeting was about to announce that, using the NHS app, patients would be able to self-refer to talking therapies. The government, she said, was also ‘putting digital front doors in mental health services for patients up and down the country’, with 85 new mental health emergency departments to be built across England. [16]

She followed this up with an article in February 2026[17] in which she examined UCL research which had included a focus on the impacts of the wider examination pressures on young people’s mental health.[18] In this she included a quote from a government spokesperson – that:

…mental health support teams are already intervening early with children experiencing mild to moderate issues, and we’re expanding access to a mental health professional in every school, with an additional 900,000 pupils set to benefit this year. This builds on our support-first approach for children facing barriers to attendance…’

Echoing Cassandara Harrison’s concern quoted earlier, Jamie Masraff, the Chief Executive of the ‘youth zones’ provider Onside, also stressed that for young people the ‘top priorities were (still) affordable leisure activities, safe social spaces, and more opportunities to connect in person’. Given how young people’s use of digital technology often ended up with them isolated and solitary, they were, he concluded, ‘too often disconnected from the in-person experiences that everyone in the youth sector knows creates real belonging’. The ‘clear message’ from young people, therefore, was: ‘Give us ways to come together offline and share experiences and connections’.[19]

However, in the same month a report released by a New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) started from a much more challenging premise: that ‘we can’t have a service-level solution to a system-level problem’.[20] With a clear gap existing ‘… between the scale of the systemic issues within the youth mental health system and the kinds of solutions being offered’, it thus made a number of challenging recommendations – that:

· ‘Funders should focus on local systems change’.

· ‘The “connective” tissue needs investment’ – that is ‘… the infrastructure that enables collaboration between organisations…’.

· ‘Funders should play a greater role in working with services to generate evidence’.

· A ‘focus (is needed) on improving the flexibility and accessibility of services’ – for all young people including those who are disabled – with services ‘seek(ing) to provide flexible access points, including digital options and self-referral pathways’.

· ‘Services recognise the expertise held by people with lived experience … in service design and seek to broaden recruitment practices to make them accessible to people with lived experience’.

Grounding the Policy…

Implementing these kinds of radical ‘system-level’ changes clearly poses policymakers with another major mountain to climb. It is a challenge too, however, for organisations and projects providing open access youth work: how to identify, acknowledge and then seek to respond to the mental health pressures facing the young people they are meeting when their priorities are likely to be focused much more on spending time with their friends and using the leisure spaces youth work offers to enjoy and deepen these relationships.

… in an Early Youth Support Hub example

Chilypep, of which I am a patron, is an example of an organisation which is seeking to meet this challenge. It is currently one of 24 organisations across the country funded through the Department of Health and Social Care to provide Early Support Open Access Hubs to young people. Youth Access, a leading advocate for the model and key partner in the national Fund the Hubs campaign, describes the Hubs as offering

… easy to access drop-in support addressing mental health and wider wellbeing and practical support that responds to the ‘whole person’ not just isolated challenges or symptoms. [21]

The services provided typically include:

· Counselling and psychological therapies

· Wellbeing support

· Employment and education advice

· Housing and financial guidance

· Youth work

· Sexual health and support around harmful substance use

Wider services may also be provided to adapt to local need and respond to young people’s feedback.

An initial interim evaluation undertaken by University College London, conducted in September 2025, reached a conclusion that speaks very directly to the theme of this blog piece – that

… (the) aspects of hubs that were valued by young people included easy accessibility; holistic approaches which go beyond clinical interventions; a sense of community, friendship and consistency; and youth-led philosophies.[22]

Bernard Davies

September 2026

[1] The Condition of Young People Pt 3 – August 2026 Blog post from Bernard Davies

[2] Rebecca Thornhill, 2024, ‘New research reveals crushing impact of “anti-social” media on young people in London’, LondonWorld, 2 July, https://www.londonworld.com/community/new-research-reveals-crushing-impact-of-anti-social-media-on-young-adults-in-london-4688215

[3] Richard Partington, 2025, ‘Mental health crisis “means youth is no longer one of the happiest times of life”’, Guardian, 3 March

[4] Anna Bawden, 2025, ‘One in four young people in England have mental health condition, NHS survey finds’, Guardian, 26 June; Joe Lepper, 2025, ‘Nearly one on eight young women and girls have attempted suicide, figures show’, CYPN, 26 June

[5] Tobi Thomas, 2025, ‘Suicide rates among young people in England rose 50% in 10 years, figures show’, Guardian, 20 October

[6] PA Media, 2026, ‘Young people’s life satisfaction “has fallen of a cliff” since 2010’, Guardian, 27 July

[7] Richard Adams, 2026, ‘Compulsory GCSE resits in England harm teenagers’ mental wellbeing, study finds, Guardian, 19 August

[8] Anna Bawden, 2025, op cit, 26 June

[9] Joe Lepper, 2025, op cit, 26 June

[10] Alexandra Topping, 2025, ‘“We can’t pit boys against girls”: headlines overshadow struggles of a generation of girls’, Guardian, 12 April

[11] Centre for Social Justice, 2025, Lost Boys: State of the Nation, March, https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/library/lost-boys

[12] Joanne Parkes, 2025, ‘Landmark report on children and young people’s experiences published ahead of Covid-19 inquiry hearings’, CYPN, 15 September

[13] ‘Comment’, 2026, ‘Loneliness is a national challenge – we must give young people a different future’, CYPN, 18 June

[14] GOV.UK Email, 2026, Loneliness, isolation and social connection among boys and young men in England, 20 June, available via Loneliness, isolation and social connection among boys and young men in England – GOV.UK

[15] Jessica Murray, 2025, ‘Booze up: is gen Z’s “sensible” relationship with alcohol moving towards hedonism?’, Guardian, 15 August

[16] Anna Bawden, 2025, ‘One in four young people in England have mental health condition, NHS survey finds’, Guardian, 26 June;

[17] Anna Bawden, 2026, op cit, 12 February

[18] See blog post dated 26 July 2026

[19] Jamie Masraff, 2025, ‘Invest in youth clubs to tackle isolation felt by young people’, CYPN, 26 November

[20] New Philanthropy Capital, 2026, ‘Unlocking Support: Hearing from children and young people about barriers to mental health and wellbeing support’, February, https://www.thinknpc.org/resource-hub/unlocking-support/

[21] Briefing paper, Youth Access model, Policy, Youth Access members, 16 Mar 2026

[22] A qualitative investigation of young people’s experiences and views of Early Support Hubs | medRxiv