One in four older teenagers in England are struggling with mental health problems, according to new figures that highlight the impact of the pandemic on the younger generation.

The data, published by NHS Digital, shows that 25.7% of 17 to 19-year-olds had probable mental health issues in 2022, compared to 17.4% (one in six) in 2021.

In 2017, the rate was 10.1% in that age group.

Among seven to 16-year-olds, 18.0% were found to have a probable mental health problems in 2022 – a rise of nearly six percentage points in the last five years.

“[The figures] are concerning and they are worrying”, said Dr Tamsin Newlove-Delgado, a senior clinical lecturer in Child Public Mental Health at the University of Exeter.

She told Sky News: “What’s particularly worrying is after the sharp rise we saw between 2017 and 2020, those high levels of mental health problems in children and young people haven’t returned to pre-COVID levels.

“And secondly, we’ve even seen them increase, between 2021 and 2022.

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“It’s certainly clear that COVID has played a role and probably quite a significant one when you think about the disruption that children and young people have experienced to their social and their family situations as well as to their education.”

Mental health link to cost of living crisis

The cost of living crisis was also found to be a contributing factor to children’s deteriorating mental health.

Among 17 to 22-year-olds with a probable mental disorder, 14.8% reported living in a household that had struggled to buy food or used a food bank in the past year, compared to 2.1% of those unlikely to have a mental disorder.

And 17.8% of children aged seven to 16 with a probable mental disorder lived in a household that had fallen behind with bills, rent or mortgage, compared with 7.6% of those unlikely to have any mental health problems.

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The study was based on a sample of 2,866 children and young people, aged between seven and 24 years old, and covered a range of topics including family life, education and social media use.

Online bullying

One in eight (12.6%) of all 11 to 16-year-old users of social media reported they had been bullied online. This rose to nearly one in three (29.4%) among those with a probable mental disorder.

Among all 17 to 24-year-old social media users, young women were almost twice as likely to have experienced online bullying (19.5%) compared to young men (11.3%).

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While three quarters of young women (75.9%) reported having a possible eating problem, compared with fewer than half (45.5%) of young men.

“That does seem to be a group that we should be particularly concerned about,” said Dr Newlove-Delgado, referencing the high proportion of young women with possible eating problems.

Problems with eating do not necessarily equate to an eating disorder but the data shows the number affected has surged in the last five years.

In 2022, 60.3% of young people aged 17 to 19 reported possible eating problems compared with 44.6% in 2017.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email [email protected] in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK

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