One in five 16–25-year-olds miss school or work due to poor mental health, harrowing report shows, as charity calls for urgent support

One in five young adults reportedly struggled with poor mental health, so much so that they missed school or work in the last year because of it, a new study has found.

The teenage years of child development are supposed to be among the hardest, so when young adults find themselves suffering from anxiety or depression, it can take its toll. A kid shared his teenager worries in a heartfelt video earlier this week, and if you're a parent of teens, you might have already asked yourself 'Why won’t my teenager talk to me anymore?' as you try and fathom out what's wrong.

The Prince’s Trust helps tens of thousands of young people each year to build the confidence and skills they need to realise their potential. Three in four young people on Prince’s Trust programmes move into work, education or training. 

A recent survey carried out by The Prince's Trust NatWest Youth Index 2024 discovered that 18 per cent of youngsters did not apply for jobs because of a mental health issue. In addition, they (21 per cent) admitted that their mental health worsened in the last year.

But that's not all, young people's happiness with work, education, qualifications and money has hit an all-time low since polling began in 2009. The YouGov survey of 2,239 adults between November 23 and December 14, showed one-fifth (21 per cent) missed school or work in the past year due to their mental health.

Jonathan Townsend, UK chief executive of The Prince’s Trust said: “This year’s report shows that rising rates of poor mental health are significantly impacting young people’s education and early careers. This is leading to a vicious cycle where poor mental health is having a negative impact on young people’s work, yet being unemployed has a negative impact on their wellbeing – this is a deeply concerning trap.

“We must work together to address this trap, where poor mental health and employment struggles exacerbate each other or risk it closing in on a generation. Urgent support is needed from partners, governments and employers, to help young people break this cycle.”

Meanwhile, the study also showed more than a quarter of those questioned (29 per cent) said they worried their current employer would not support them if they experienced a mental health problem, and one in ten unemployed young people had left work in the past 12 months because of a mental health issue.

Sandi Royden, head of Youth and families at Natwest, said, "These findings show that we should not underestimate the impact the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis have had on the daily lives of our young people, their financial confidence and their future aspirations. They also highlight the resilience of the next generation with so many feeling determined to achieve their goals in the face of these challenges.

She added, "Through our partnership with The Prince’s Trust, we are able to better understand the needs of young people and take the right action through initiatives like NatWest Thrive, to help them to improve both their financial well-being and future confidence, to better equip them to achieve their goals."

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