British youth are increasingly suffering from mental illness & depression

British young people - between the ages of 18 and 24 - are increasingly suffering from mental illness , which greatly hinders their entry into the labor market, according to a study conducted by the Resolution Foundation, the results of which were published on Monday.

Young people currently face “the worst mental health conditions among all age groups” in Britain, according to the research center, which called for government measures to combat this problem and provide support to avoid “a lost generation.”

Between 2021 and 2022, a period when the country was just emerging from the Covid pandemic and the long periods of confinement that accompanied it, 34% of people between the ages of 18 and 24 reported symptoms such as depression , anxiety or bipolar disorder, a much higher percentage than in 2020. 2000 (24%).

This study indicates that young women are more susceptible to these disorders (41%) than young men (26%).

The results of the study confirm that - in addition to the pandemic - social media networks and the electronic harassment that they promote play a major role in the spread of mental illness among young people.

Positive decline

But the study was also keen to point out that “the (positive) decline in negative stigma associated with mental health problems in recent years means that an increasing number of young people are likely to report their symptoms compared to the past.”

These difficulties, in addition to their impact on the personal lives of young people who suffer from them, also have harmful consequences on their career paths and income, and consequences for employers and the state’s public finances, according to the Resolution Foundation.

Thus, the study indicated that young people with mental illnesses are more often unemployed or hold low-paid jobs than other young people of the same age.

The number of people with long-term illnesses leaving the labor market has reached record levels in the United Kingdom. This inflationary factor, at a time when the country is still facing the highest price increases among the G7 countries, also contributes to the shortage of employees in some professions, and puts pressure on public finances.