World News

Generation sicknote: Young people are increasingly blaming their mental health for being out of work… but critics question if it’s all just ‘snowflakery’

Young people are increasingly blaming mental health problems for being jobless, a stark report warns today.

The number of 18 to 24-year-olds who are ‘economically inactive’ due to health issues has more than doubled in the past decade, rising from 93,000 to 190,000.

Two thirds report suffering poor mental health and four in ten list it as the main reason for not working. 


The study by the Resolution Foundation revealed that a third of young people experienced symptoms of mental illness – such as depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder – in 2021/22, up from a quarter at the turn of the millennium.

Experts say the ‘worrying trend’ is damaging the economy – with 5 per cent of young adults out of work due to sickness, heaping strain on the benefits system and the NHS.

The number of 18 to 24-year-olds who are 'economically inactive' due to health issues has more than doubled in the past decade (Stock Image)

The number of 18 to 24-year-olds who are 'economically inactive' due to health issues has more than doubled in the past decade (Stock Image)

The number of 18 to 24-year-olds who are ‘economically inactive’ due to health issues has more than doubled in the past decade (Stock Image)

The report by the Left-leaning Resolution Foundation says young people are now more likely to experience a common mental disorder than any other age group (Stock Image)

The report by the Left-leaning Resolution Foundation says young people are now more likely to experience a common mental disorder than any other age group (Stock Image)

The report by the Left-leaning Resolution Foundation says young people are now more likely to experience a common mental disorder than any other age group (Stock Image)


The shift means people in their early 20s are now more likely to be unemployed due to ill health than those in their early 40s.

However, critics last night blamed a ‘cultural drive to medicalise everyday life’ and create a generation of ‘snowflakes’.

A mental health diagnosis has now become the norm, stopping people taking responsibility for their own lives, according to Frank Furedi of the University of Kent.

The sociology professor said: ‘What used to be known as existential problems of being young – relationship breakdowns, failing, not being part of something – the normal difficulties of making your own way in life have been compartmentalised into mental health issues. We’ve created a mental health crisis by reframing the problems of everyday life into this.


‘We dispossess young people of their sense of being able to take charge of their lives and control what happens.

‘If you have a mental health condition, how can you possibly take responsibility and take control of your destiny? The minute something goes wrong, as soon as you have normal tensions of work, it turns into a problem of stress and depression.’

The report by the Left-leaning Resolution Foundation says young people are now more likely to experience a common mental disorder than any other age group – a reversal of two decades ago when they were least likely to.

Those with lower qualifications are also more likely to be unemployed – 79 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds who are workless due to ill health do not have A-levels.


Mental health problems are also driving school absences with one in eight 11 to 16-year-olds with poor mental health missing more than 15 days of school in autumn 2023.

The report concludes that efforts to tackle the epidemic of poor mental health should focus on the lower-qualified with better support in colleges and sixth forms.

Louise Murphy, the foundation’s senior economist, said: ‘Attention on this issue has tended to focus on higher education, but what should most worry us is when poor mental health comes together with poor education outcomes.

‘The economic consequences of poor mental health are starkest for young people who don’t go to university, with one in three young non-graduates with a common mental disorder currently workless.


‘To address this mental health crisis, we need better support services in currently under-served colleges, and much better provision for those resitting exams so that everyone has qualifications to build on.’ 

The report cites soaring levels of antidepressant prescribing as evidence of difficulties among 18 to 24-year-olds, jumping from 440,000 prescriptions in 2015-16 to 570,000 in 2021-22 – a rise of 31 per cent.

Professor Furedi added: ‘We have the constant proliferation of psychological diagnosis given to children so things like ADHD are constantly handed out like candy. If you look at all the reports published over the past 20 years, it’s really intensified in the last ten years, they’re constantly talking about mental health conditions.

‘I predict the problem is going to get worse as we have three generations now who have been educated into this belief.’


The report states that women aged 18 to 24 are 1.6 times more likely to experience mental disorders than men of the same age (Stock Image)

The report states that women aged 18 to 24 are 1.6 times more likely to experience mental disorders than men of the same age (Stock Image)

The report states that women aged 18 to 24 are 1.6 times more likely to experience mental disorders than men of the same age (Stock Image)

The report comes after The Mail on Sunday published extracts from a book by Abigail Shrier, suggesting that ‘touchy-feely parenting and therapy’ has done little to help Generation Z – those born from 1997 to 2012.

In Bad Therapy, she says the rush to ‘diagnose and accommodate, not punish or reward’ has led to ‘the loneliest, most anxious, depressed, pessimistic, helpless and fearful generation on record’.

A poll conducted for the Mail by Professor Matt Goodwin last week found the obsession with mental health issues was setting up an entire generation to fail.


Of the 1,000 unemployed young people between 18 and 30 surveyed, 40 per cent said they had been out of work for a year or longer and 44 per cent depended on welfare benefits to survive.

Personal Independence Payments, formerly known as the Disability Living Allowance, cost the state around £22billion a year, with around 38 per cent of this going on cases related to mental health.

The report states that women aged 18 to 24 are 1.6 times more likely to experience mental disorders than men of the same age, with rates of 41 per cent and 26 per cent respectively.

The number of girls aged 17 to 19 reporting probable mental disorders also nearly trebled between 2017 and 2023, with 32 per cent said to have one, compared with 15 per cent of males of the same age.


The finding is mirrored by other worrying evidence on a deterioration in mental health that predates the pandemic.

One example was that the number of girls aged 13 to 17 who have self-harmed doubled between 2010-11 and 2021-22, jumping by nearly 20,000. 

Other evidence highlights that girls aged 16 to 17 are more likely to report elevated rates of psychological stress, self-harm and suicide attempts than boys.

Last night, government officials said they were expanding mental health provision, with up to £2.3billion in extra funding now being delivered annually compared with 2018-19. 


A spokesman said a ‘back to work’ plan sets out tailored support to get more young people into work, with work coaches and youth hubs offering advice and guidance helping young people find the right role.

They added: ‘This is all backed with record levels of support for mental health which reached £16billion last year, including £1billion specifically for children and young people.’

Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
247

Related posts

Glynn County commissioners to hold special meeting to address critical shortage of police officers

BBC Brk News

Jordan Klepper and Desi Lydic Confront Fox News’ ‘War on Christmas’ Believers

BBC Brk News

‘Day of Rage’ Chicago: Synagogues, police in region on high alert as Israel forces say Hamas calls for violence

BBC Brk News

Leave a Comment