The number of young people with mental health problems increased significantly during the corona pandemic. In 2021, according to the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 18 percent of 12 to 25-year-olds were ‘mentally unhealthy’. That equates to 488,000 young people. In 2019 and 2020 this was still 11 percent. This deterioration is probably related to the corona measures, such as school closures and lockdowns.
“Young people felt more depressed and gloomy, among other things,” according to CBS. Mental health has deteriorated the most among girls and young women (12 to 25 years old). Nearly a quarter of this group is classified by the agency as ‘mentally unhealthy’. Before the corona crisis, in 2019, this was 14 percent. “But more young men also had to deal with poorer mental health,” the CBS said.
The agency conducted a health survey of young people, a survey in which people answer questions about their mood. Among other things, it looked at how often young people feel depressed, restless and unhappy.
Earlier research by Statistics Netherlands already showed that the mental health of young people deteriorated from the last quarter of 2020 and this continued into the first two quarters of 2021. They indicated that they were much less likely than before the pandemic to be happy and satisfied with life.
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