“Young People Aren’t Snowflakes”

We, as youth workers, have known this for a long time. Seeing the impact distress can have on a young person’s day, seeing their resilience in the face of piling stressors as they grow up today. Experiencing with them the impact of social media, exam pressures, friendship breakdown and more.

But now - this statement has come as part of a large-scale, independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism diagnoses across England - that reflected on the scale of these diagnoses, support in place across England and the pathways to access these. Last month we saw Professor Fonagy (the lead author) has recently spoken out about young people’s mental health, sharing his own experience, and now some the final report has been published, recommendations made & data presented.

Let’s delve into the report..

Okay.

It’s BIG, it’s COMPLEX, it’s a lot.

It talks about all age ranges, so we’ll focus on children and young people data and comments.

First – the Context.
The review was called for by, then, Health Minister Wes Streeting, at a time when he suggested there is an ‘over diagnosis’ in young people and that they were ‘being written off’.
It has been led by 3 leading figures in the fields of Psychiatry and Psychology and from the start we must note the care taken to contextualise and simplify the complex datasets and conclusions.

Next – the Data.
The report drew on different kinds of data across the report & continue to do so for the final report – including population data (e.g. population surveys & longitudinal data), administrative data (e.g. primary care NHS records, education data, pathway data & wait times) and meetings, collaborations and interviews with professionals, organisations and those with lived experience of struggles & delivery of services.

Now – the Findings.

Some big headlines for those of us working with young people…

• Young People’s experience of Mental Health Conditions and Psychological Distress has increased over the past 2 decades. This looks like 1 in 4 16-24 year olds reporting struggling and a 50% increase in Children and young people in contact with Mental Health Services in England in the last 5 years.
• An increase like this has been reported on that across all ages BUT the report notes it is larger for young people. It also means we’ve seen a change in mental health across the lifespan..
  The interim report said : We’ve seen a “significant shifting of previous age-based patterns” where in the past “distress tended to be higher in midlife than in early adulthood” But “more recent evidence shows that young adults now report higher levels of distress than older age groups, with this shift emerging from the early 2010s rather than solely during the pandemic.”
  
  
• Increases are specific to emotional problems, hyperactivity and peer/social problems and these issues can be seen in symptoms such as; loneliness, sleep issues, low confidence and difficulty concentrating. We also see that these high levels of distress equal increased impairment… “indicating that these difficulties are not only more frequently reported but may also be more disruptive to day-to-day life.”
• This review “points towards a changing social and developmental environment rather than a simple across-the-board deterioration in all aspects of child functioning.” – meaning that expected rates on things like substance use and alcohol use have fallen (behavioural) while we’ve seen “rising internalising distress, hyperactivity, inattention and peer difficulties”.
• Finally – it’s worth noting that severe mental health does not seem to have changed in the reported data BUT that self-harm and eating disorders seem to have continued to rise. Specifically – “Part of this pattern [of rising internalised distress] includes a marked increase in self-harm among young people, with many reporting it as a way of coping with distress.”

It’s worth naming – none of this may feel relatively new. ESPECIALLY if we’ve read other work on this topic in recent years (and lots of these reports draw on similar/the same datasets) or worked with young people on the ground since the pandemic. But it can be SO important to name these issues and highlight what they may look like for young people.

Finally, then – the takeaways.

• Young People AREN’T snowflakes. They are struggling, in need and we need to watch for that when working with them.
  Be a listening ear, help them when they feel overwhelmed and remember they are trying their best at a time that things feel difficult.
• We need to help young people co-regulate & be safe people for them when they are struggling. This will help them externalise their difficulties & model to them how they can cope well.
• Finally, we need youth workers & projects for young people to take part in! In the BBC news article about this Report, the lead author spoke about the loss of youth centres, the need for opportunities for young people to participate & people who can help, listen and do something about it.

As Professor Fonagy calls for – “When I needed help, I got it. I want everyone to have that chance.” Let’s make sure the young people in our churches, in our communities and in our lives have that chance.

LINKS:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cqzrz0z4plk1o

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-into-mental-health-conditions-adhd-and-autism-interim-report/independent-review-into-mental-health-conditions-adhd-and-autism-interim-report#executive-summary

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/independent-review-into-mental-health-conditions-adhd-and-autism-final-report