Young people wary about speaking mental health

According to a survey by YouGov for the Prince’s Trust, 24 per cent of young people have said they would not confide in someone if they were experiencing a mental health problem, with many fearing that it could affect their job prospects.

A survey of 2,215 respondents aged 16 to 25 found that the 78 per cent of young people think there is a stigma attached to mental health issues.

The findings, published in part two of The Prince’s Trust Macquarie Youth Index, found 32 per cent of this portion of young people said they would keep quiet about their mental health worries, believing that admitting to a problem could affect their job prospects, 57 per cent claimed they wouldn’t want anyone to know they were struggling and 35 per cent feared it would make them ‘look weak’.

The research, conducted anonymously online, indicated that 47 per cent of young people have experienced a mental health issue. These young people are: significantly less likely to feel in control of their job prospects; more likely to feel too tired and stressed to cope with day to day life; more likely to feel they have no control over their education, training or finances than their peers.

Dame Martina Milburn, chief executive of the Princes Trust, said: “We know issues like depression and anxiety can have a crippling impact on a young person’s aspirations and life chances, so it’s alarming to find that so many would rather live with mental health issues than talk to anyone about them.

“We must all work together to instil confidence in these young people that they won’t be stigmatised, and one of the key things we can do to help improve their mental health is to help them with their education, training and job prospects.

“Our personal development programmes give young people the self-esteem and coping skills that set them up not just for the workplace but for life."

Professor Louise Arseneault, ESRC Mental Health Leadership Fellow at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London added:

“It is extremely worrying to see that young people suffer from the stigma around mental health. This can be a major obstacle for them in seeking help and finding support, which could further affect their confidence in finding work at a crucial stage in their lives. It shouldn’t be like this.

“Increasing the understanding and awareness of mental health problems among young people should be a key priority. We also need to explore ways of ensuring young people with mental health problems do not fall out of education or employment from an early age.”