Mental health problems among Dutch teens remain high

Last year, the HBSC survey found that mental health problems among girls in the Netherlands had increased sharply between 2017 and 2021. The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science therefore asked researchers at Utrecht University and the Trimbos Institute to conduct another large-scale survey into the well-being of schoolchildren in the autumn of 2022. According to project leader and Professor Adolescent Health & Wellbeing at Utrecht University Gonneke Stevens, "Mental health problems among Dutch youth are as high as ever in 2022."

In their report Young after corona, Stevens and her colleagues write that a full recovery of mental health by 2022 was unlikely, given the large rise in mental health problems between 2017 and 2021. However, it is striking that the percentage of young people experiencing mental health problems did not go down on any indicator in 2022 relative to 2021, the UU researcher says. "The level of mental health problems consequently remains very high in 2022, particularly among girls in secondary education. Almost half of them reported hyperactivity and attention or emotional problems in 2022."

Pressure from school work, Ukraine and the climate crisis

The researchers attribute the high level of mental health problems among young people to a number of factors. One is ongoing high pressure due to school work in 2022. Girls in secondary school were also less positive about their social relationships with parents, friends, classmates and teachers in both 2022 and 2021 compared to 2017. Last but not least, broader developments such as the war in Ukraine and the climate and energy crises may be negatively impacting the mental health of Dutch youth as well.

"We are seeing this increase among both boys and girls and in both primary and secondary education."

Sharp rise in social media use

The percentage of young people extensively using social media increased sharply between 2021 and 2022. Stevens: "We are seeing this increase among both boys and girls and in both primary and secondary education." It may be a TikTok effect, use of which rose sharply in the Netherlands between 2021 and 2022. Though intensive social media use on the whole tends not to be correlated with mental health problems, making it unlikely that this increase would lead directly to more mental problems, Stevens is uneasy about this development. "For some kids, more intensive social media use will over time lead to more problematic social media use, and so to more mental health problems."

HAVO pupils

Interestingly, the researchers conclude in their report that many trends noted between 2021 and 2022 impacted senior general secondary education (HAVO) pupils more negatively than their peers at other levels. For instance, the percentage of HAVO pupils who enjoyed school and were positive about their relationships with teachers and parents went down between 2021 and 2022, and the share experiencing problems with peers went up. By comparison, pre-university education (VWO) and preparatory secondary vocational education (VMBO) pupils noted no changes on these fronts during the same period.

National Education Programme

In 2021, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science made €5 billion available to schools to address the negative impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic among pupils. Stevens and her colleagues therefore also examined possible correlations between the investment of these resources and shifts in mental health problems, school work pressure and relationships with classmates and teachers (between 2021 and 2022). Such correlations were found for the indicator "problems with peers", such as being bullied or not liked by peers. "Where problems with peers are concerned, primary and secondary schools that focused strongly on pupils’ social and emotional development in the 2021-2022 school year showed a more positive trend than those that did not focus as strongly on this."