Research undertaken for the Nuffield Foundation has found that the overall level of teenage mental health problems is no longer on the increase and may even be in decline.

Researchers from Cardiff University and the Institute of Psychiatry analysed data on the mental health of 11-15 year olds using Office of National Statistics surveys from 1999 and 2004 and found that:

• There was no change in the amount of emotional problems such as anxiety or depression between 1999 and 2004 (these problems rose by 70% in the preceding 25 years from 1974 to 1999).
• Parent reports of conduct problems such as lying, stealing, disobedience and fighting decreased slightly between 1999 and 2004 (these problems doubled between 1974 and 1999).
• Although teenage mental health problems did not increase between 1999 and 2004, the dramatic rise in these problems prior to 1999 means that today’s teenagers are still more likely to experience emotional and conduct problems than teenagers in the 1970s and 1980s.

The research paper is available to download from the Nuffield Foundation’s website.