Global Issues are affecting youth mental health, a study shows

Experts have called youth mental health illness a global crisis for months. Now, a new international report calls on the external factors driving the crisis, which are also part of its root source.

Dr. Patrick McGorry, an Australian psychiatrist and the report's lead author, told the NY Times that the data clearly points "to an increasingly sick society" and that "no one could claim to be in the dark anymore."

The report pointed out that global issues or "megatrends" are part of the reason behind the declining youth mental health, issues like unfiltered social media, income inequality, and climate change.

Photo: Fernando Cferdophotography / Unspalsh

The report was published in the prestigious medical journal The Lancet Psychiatry. It included the participation of a panel of mental health and economic experts and young people.

According to the NY Times, The report was produced over five years by a commission of more than 50 people. According to The Guardian, much of the evidence came from high-income countries.

Social media has been front and center in the discussion of declining youth mental health. Screen time and unfiltered content do have an effect on mental illness, the report said.

Dr. McGorry also told The Guardian that social media drives political polarization and is leaving young people feeling increasingly isolated, which has a toll on their mental health.

Still, social media is not the only culprit. Other factors could have even more significant roles in declining the mental health of adolescents and young adults, and those are much harder to solve.

According to the NY Times report, the economic trends of the last two decades have contributed to many financial and social problems that disproportionately impact young people.

Income inequality is one of the most obvious ones. According to the International Monetary Fund, young people in Europe are being left behind regarding income and job opportunities.

Experts have seen similar trends in the developing world. Additionally, in countries where higher education is not guaranteed, like the US, young people are crippled with student debt.

Young people also struggle with restrictive housing markets. In many countries, the price of a house is several times the average annual salary, much more than it was for older generations.

Climate change is also an anxiety factor for young people, who see world leaders slacking on climate goals and who will also be more affected by the consequences, according to the WHO.

All of these factors collide to provide young adults and adolescents with a sense of hopelessness, the report said. Dr. McGorry told The Guardian that there is much less hope for the future in the current generation than ever.

Still, according to The Guardian, an accompanying report by researchers at King's College London acknowledged that the report has limits due to the narrow scope of the data.

Most of the information in the report comes from high-income countries. 90% of children and adolescents live in low and middle-income countries, The Guardian said. Mental illness is also a higher burden in those nations.

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