One in five young people in the UK have missed school or work in the past year due to their mental health, warns Prince’s Trust research.
The Prince’s Trust NatWest Youth Index 2024 found 18% of young people report a mental health issue has stopped them applying for a job, and one in eight say it stopped them attending an interview.
The report discovered that 40 per cent of 16 to 25-year-olds have experienced a mental health problem, while a fifth (21 per cent) report their mental health has got worse in the last year. Over half (54 per cent) of young people say the cost-of-living crisis and pandemic has had a negative impact on their mental health, with over a third reporting that they always or often feel down or depressed (36 per cent).
More than a third (35 per cent) of young people are worried their mental health will stop them achieving their career ambitions.
Despite this, most young people still report that having a job is good for their mental health (62 per cent), enables them to feel confident about their future (68 per cent) and gives them a sense of purpose in life (65 per cent).
