WHO: More adolescents in Europe have mental health problems

Mental health problems at adolescents increase during growing up, and the girls are more vulnerable and at higher risk than boys.More adolescents in Europe are facing mental health problems, showing the latest report published by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to Europe.

Nervous or irritable

The report is a product of extensive analysis of a large number of data about the physical and mental health and social relations of the group of 227,441 school children age 11, 13 and 15 years from 45 countries. This report indicates the mental health of adolescents in many countries has dropped in the period between 2014 and 2018.

• A growing number of boys and girls across the European region has mental health problems and feels depressed, nervous or irritable and that’s why we all worry –regional director of the WHO for Europe, Hans Kluge, said.

He also says that the way we respond to this growing problem now will have an impact on this generation, and our investment in young people, for example, will ensure that it is easy to protect their mental health in a way that match their needs. A quarter of adolescents at least once a week feel nervous and irritable.

Our investment in their mental health now will also, as Kluge stated, bring health, social and economic benefits to today’s adolescent, who will be adults tomorrow, as well as many other future generations after them. According to the report, mental health problems with adolescents increase during growing up, and the girls are under a higher risk than boys, according to a statement by the European office.

Also, a quarter of adolescents is feeling nervous and irritable at least once a week, or has trouble sleeping, and there are significant differences between certain countries when it comes to the mental health of adolescents, which leads to the conclusion that the cultural and economic reasons can play a role there, as well as concrete policies that are implemented in the countries covered with this report.

Source of pressure

In roughly a third of the countries surveyed, adolescents said that school commitments are a source of pressure, and the number of young people who said they love the school is less than in 2014, the report stated. When it comes to all the representation of digital technologies–which have their positive side, it is observed that these also, can make adolescent vulnerable and expose them to the new sources of danger, such as abuse via the Internet, and in that regard girls are more endangered.

According to the report, more than 10% of the surveyed adolescents said they faced internet abuse at least once in the previous two months. The report, also, points to problems such as risky sexual behavior, alcohol and tobacco consumption, insufficient physical activity, as well as a bad diet, or consequence of excessive weight and obesity.

Coronavirus pandemic

The report is based on the results of a study completed in 2017 and 2018. So, when such studies are implemented in the future, the results, also, will be a reference point for determining the impact that has the current coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement.