While rates of poor mental health and suicide attempts among adolescents have largely recovered from the peaks seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, repeated self-harm is increasing, particularly among females. Also, trans and gender-diverse young people and early school leavers are particularly vulnerable to mental distress.
This is according to a study – “Trends in psychological distress among adolescents in Ireland: survey data from 2018 to 2023 & lived experience perspective” by Niamh Dooley, Bel Aghedo, Sophie Mae Harrington, et al – that was published in Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology.
In this study, the researchers analyzed more than 20,000 anonymous responses to the Planet Youth Survey from students aged 15-19 in 113 secondary schools across six counties, estimating national trends in poor mental health, repetitive self-harm (five or more times in one’s lifetime) and suicide attempts between 2018 and 2023.
Key findings included:
- One in five respondents reported poor mental health at the time of the survey, one in eight reported repeated self-harm during their lifetime and one in twelve reported having attempted suicide in their lifetime.
- The proportion of adolescents reporting self-harm increased from 9.7% during the COVID-19 period to 11.1% two years post-pandemic.
- Rates were significantly higher among females, trans and gender-diverse adolescents, and early school leavers (pupils in Youthreach centres).
- Trans and gender diverse young people reported the highest rates of any of subjectively poor mental health (52%), repetitive self-harm (44%) and suicide attempt (23%), while pupils in Youthreach centers were twice as likely to report a history of self-harm or suicide attempts compared with their peers still in mainstream secondary school.
“Our study shows that in a typical classroom of 25 senior-cycle students, five will report poor mental health, three will have self-harmed multiple times, and two will have attempted suicide at some point in their life. While we knew already that demand for adolescent mental health supports in Ireland exceeds available services, these findings illustrate just how wide that gap may be. They underline the need for stronger mental health supports at every level – especially in secondary schools, primary care and community-based services such as Jigsaw,” said co-author Dooley.
For the researchers, these findings have significant implications for supporting at-risk adolescents, particularly early school leavers and trans/gender diverse youth. “They also provide updated prevalence estimates for psychological distress in adolescents, which may be used to determine the minimum service capacity of community mental health teams.”
“The results of this study reflect growing societal concern about teenage mental health. The continued prevalence of suicide attempts highlights the importance of early, universal prevention, as well as targeted interventions for groups of young people who face heightened and more complex risks,” said co-author Mary Cannon.
