More than a quarter of secondary school students say their mental health is 'bad' or 'very bad'
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More than a quarter of adolescents of secondary school age have described their mental health as “bad” or “very bad” in a survey published by the Royal College of Surgeons of Ireland (RCSI).
The survey was undertaken in 2021 among more than 4,400 adolescents in north Dublin, Cavan, and Monaghan and its results “may be partly related to the covid-19 pandemic”, according to the RCSI.
The data was compiled by researchers attached to the RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences.
The findings included:
• One in every three transgender and gender-diverse young persons (non-binary and undisclosed) had attempted suicide in their lifetime (36%), and three in four had suicidal thoughts (77%);
• 29% of adolescents described their mental health as “bad” or “very bad”;
• More than a third reported self-harming in their lifetime;
• One in ten reported attempting suicide in their lifetime;
• Being an ethnicity other than white-Irish and experiencing relative poverty was linked with higher rates of many mental health outcomes, including psychotic-like experiences, self-harm, and suicidal ideation and attempts.
Researchers undertook the study because of societal shifts including the pandemic and the prevalence of smartphone usage since the most recent study of the demographic was had been undertaken in 2018 and 2019.
The survey noted that the most commonly reported negative effect of covid-19 was a worsening of the school experience for participants, while the negative impact of covid-19 on family relationships was strongly associated with poor mental health by respondents.
The RCSI survey was conducted in the last quarter of 2021, and included respondents in secondary schools and Youthreach centres.
Study author Mary Cannon is professor of psychiatric epidemiology and youth mental health at the RCSI.
She said that the particpants in the study came from both urban and rural backgrounds.
She said: “The results show worrying trends in mental health for adolescents in general.
"In particular, those reporting poor mental health were more likely to be female, transgender or gender-diverse, to be from a financially worse-off family and to have experienced negative effects of covid-19 on relationships and health.”
The results relating to reported self harm and suicide attempts were higher than estimates from other recent studies of teenagers in Ireland, according to co-author Dr Niamh Dooley.
She said: “When we compared our findings to other similar studies conducted within the past 10 years in Ireland, it suggests a marked increase in the prevalence of self-reported mental health problems among our young people.
"Research from other countries like England and the United States is showing a similar pattern, especially since covid-19.”
The study was undertaken as part of the Planet Youth programme, which is surveying mental health and substance-use problems in adolescents every two years since 2021 to next year.