© WHO 2016 ADOLESCENTS’ MENTAL WELL-BEING KEY FACTS AND FIGURES FACT SHEET, 15 March 2016 This fact sheet presents highlights from the international report of the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. HBSC, a WHO collaborative cross-national study, asks boys and girls aged 11, 13 and 15 years about their health and well-being, social environments and health behaviours every four years. The 2013/2014 survey was conducted in 42 countries and regions across the WHO European Region and North America. BACKGROUND Mental ill health accounts for almost 20% of the burden of disease in the WHO European Region. It affects not only people living with mental health problems, but also the lives of their carers and the productivity of society as a whole. Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in many western countries, responsible for 30–40% of chronic sick leave and health-related early retirement and costing some 3% of gross domestic product. Being in good emotional as well as physical health enables young people to deal with the challenges of adolescence and eases their transition into adulthood. Mental well-being in childhood is associated with social competence and good coping skills that lead to more positive outcomes in adulthood. About half of all mental health problems in adulthood have their onset during or before adolescence. Mental health and well-being during adolescence are strongly influenced by life experiences and relationships. Key protective factors include a sense of parent and family connectedness, with social support supplied by at least one caring adult. Good family communication and supportive peers help young people to adjust to new situations and cope with stressful life events. Family structure also counts: children and young people who live with parents express higher life satisfaction than those living with other relatives, non-relatives or guardians. Factors associated with poor mental health and well-being include bullying, lack of acceptance by peers and lack of support from parents and teachers. Frequent or sustained stress leads to emotional and physiological strain, which in turn has an effect on the development of frequent health complaints such as headaches, abdominal pain and backache. In contrast, positive school experiences has been identified as a protective factor against the development of frequent health complaints. Age differences In general, mental well-being declines as young people move through adolescence, with increased reporting of multiple health complaints, a reduction in levels of life satisfaction and a rise in adolescents rating their health as fair or poor. Cross-national and gender differences Girl report lower levels of perceived health, lower life satisfaction and more frequent health complaints. This gender gap increases with age. Family affluence Young people from less-affluent households consistently report lower life satisfaction, more frequent multiple health complaints and higher levels of perceived fair or poor health. Difference between 2010 and 2014 Young people’s levels of life satisfaction and self-rated health have remained fairly consistent since the previous HBSC study in 2009/2010.
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© WHO 2016
ADOLESCENTS’ MENTAL WELL-BEING
KEY FACTS AND FIGURES
FACT SHEET, 15 March 2016
This fact sheet presents highlights from the international report of the 2013/2014 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. HBSC, a WHO collaborative cross-national study, asks boys and girls aged 11, 13 and 15 years about their health and well-being, social environments and health behaviours every four years. The 2013/2014 survey was conducted in 42 countries and regions across the WHO European Region and North America.
BACKGROUNDMental ill health accounts for almost 20% of the burden of disease in the WHO European Region. It affects not only people living with mental health problems, but also the lives of their carers and the productivity of society as a whole. Mental disorders are the leading cause of disability in many western countries, responsible for 30–40% of chronic sick leave and health-related early retirement and costing some 3% of gross domestic product.
Being in good emotional as well as physical health enables young people to deal with the challenges of adolescence and eases their transition into adulthood. Mental well-being in childhood is associated with social competence and good coping skills that lead to more positive outcomes in adulthood. About half of all mental health problems in adulthood have their onset during or before adolescence.
Mental health and well-being during adolescence are strongly influenced by life experiences and relationships. Key protective factors include a sense of parent and family connectedness, with social support supplied by at least one caring adult. Good family communication and supportive peers help young people to adjust to new situations and cope with stressful life events. Family structure also counts: children and young people who live with parents express higher life satisfaction than those living with other relatives, non-relatives or guardians.
Factors associated with poor mental health and well-being include bullying, lack of acceptance by peers and lack of support from parents and teachers. Frequent or sustained stress leads to emotional and physiological strain, which in turn has an effect on the development of frequent health complaints such as headaches, abdominal pain and backache. In contrast, positive school experiences has been identified as a protective factor against the development of frequent health complaints.
Age differencesIn general, mental well-being declines as young people move through adolescence, with increased reporting of multiple health complaints, a reduction in levels of life satisfaction and a rise in adolescents rating their health as fair or poor.
Cross-national and gender differencesGirl report lower levels of perceived health, lower life satisfaction and more frequent health complaints. This gender gap increases with age.
Family affluenceYoung people from less-affluent households consistently report lower life satisfaction, more frequent multiple health complaints and higher levels of perceived fair or poor health.
Difference between 2010 and 2014Young people’s levels of life satisfaction and self-rated health have remained fairly consistent since the previous HBSC study in 2009/2010.
© WHO 2016
FACT SHEET TOBACCO USE IN ADOLESCENCEFACT SHEET ADOLESCENTS’ MENTAL WELL-BEING
Mental health problems can have damaging effects on young people’s social, intellectual and emotional development and consequently on their future. The adolescent years are a critical life stage for actions to protect and promote mental health and well-being for the long term.
Age differencesIn general, mental well-being declines as young people move through adolescence. Significant differences emerge between 11- and 15-year-olds, with increased reporting of multiple health complaints, a reduction in levels of life satisfaction and a rise in adolescents rating their health as fair or poor. These findings confirm that the psychosocial dimension of health is very important in the second decade of life, when adolescents experience many physical, social, psychological and cognitive changes in their transition to adulthood.
Cross-national and gender differencesSubstantial cross-national variation in the prevalence of subjective health outcomes is seen. Clear gender differences are also found, with girls reporting lower levels of perceived health, lower life satisfaction and more frequent health complaints. This gender gap emerges with 13-year-olds and increases with age. By the age of 15, one in five girls reports her health as fair or poor and one in two experiences multiple health complaints more than once a week.
Family affluenceYoung people from less-affluent households consistently report lower life satisfaction, more frequent multiple health complaints and higher levels of perceived fair or poor health
a Average across all countries in the HBSC report
0%
10%
20%
30%
50%
40%
11-year-olds 15-year-olds
24
3127
50
GIRLSBOYSYoung people who report multiple
health complaints at least once a week a
a Average across all countries in the HBSC report
0%
5%
10%
15%
25%
20%
11-year-olds 15-year-olds
9 1013
21
GIRLSBOYSYoung people who rate
their health as fair or poor a
a Average across all countries in the HBSC report
70%
75%
80%
85%
95%
90%
11-year-olds 15-year-olds
89 8987
79
GIRLSBOYSYoung people who report
high life satisfaction a
© WHO 2016
FACT SHEET TOBACCO USE IN ADOLESCENCEFACT SHEET ADOLESCENTS’ MENTAL WELL-BEING
Difference from the previous HBSC surveyYoung people’s levels of life satisfaction and self-rated health have remained fairly consistent since the previous HBSC study in 2009/2010. An increase in reporting multiple health complaints is seen among older girls, however, while there has been an average 1% decrease reported by 11-year-old girls, the rate for 15-year-olds has increased by 6%.
HOW CAN POLICY HELP?The European mental health action plan, endorsed by all 53 Member States of the WHO European Region, recognizes the importance of resilience to young people’s mental well-being. It identifies mental well-being in young people as an essential determinant of mental health later in life and proposes actions for governments to improve well-being across the lifespan through universal and targeted interventions that have been shown to be effective. Examples include mental
a Top and bottom 3, and average across all countries in the HBSC report
20% 30%10% 50%40% 70%60%
4465
38
2750
1841
1641
68
4356
1836
Malta
Italy
Israel
HBSC average
Germany
Portugal
Austria
GIRLSBOYS15-year-olds who report multiple
health complaints more than once a week a
a Average across all countries in the HBSC report
20%
30%
40%
50%
32
25
31
24
2009/2010 2013/2014
11-year-olds
44
26
50
27
2009/2010 2013/2014
15-year-olds
GIRLSBOYSYoung people who report multiple health
complaints more than once a week a
a Top and bottom 3, and average across all countries in the HBSC reportb The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
10% 20%0% 40%30% 60%50%
1438
20
1321
57
47
32
1830
47
Latvia
Wales
Poland
HBSC average
Bulgaria
Albania
MKDb
GIRLSBOYS15-year-olds who rate
their health as fair or poor a
© WHO 2016
FACT SHEET TOBACCO USE IN ADOLESCENCEFACT SHEET ADOLESCENTS’ MENTAL WELL-BEING
health promotion programmes in schools that enable early identification of emotional problems in children and take action on bullying, and whole-of-community approaches to education in areas of multiple disadvantage to break the cycle linking poverty, deprivation and poor educational outcomes.
Tackling depression and other mental health problems in adolescence is also addressed in Investing in children: the European child and adolescent health strategy 2015–2020, which highlights the need to strengthen protective factors in schools, homes and local communities and improve the quality of mental health care for children and adolescents.
Further information
Child and Adolescent Health WHO Regional Office for Europe Email: [email protected] Website: www.euro.who.int/cah
Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study Email: [email protected] Website: www.hbsc.org
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