Young people from single-parent families, low-income families and with unemployed parents are more likely to suffer from poor mental health, according to the Office for National Statistics' mental health survey.
In 2004, one in 10 young people had a "clinically recognisable" mental disorder, according to the report, rising to one in five in families where neither parent works, compared with one in 25 where both work.
Dinah Morley, deputy director of youth mental health charity Young Minds, described the survey as "a wake-up call". She said: "There are implications for youth workers, because a vast majority of them have had no training in mental health."
The survey, which covers five- to 16-year-olds in England, Scotland and Wales, found that youth mental health levels have not improved since the study was first carried out in 1999. It focuses on three categories of mental disorder: behavioural, emotional and hyperkinetic.
Young people with mental disorders are also more likely to attempt suicide, with 28 per cent of those with emotional disorders, and 21 per cent of those having conduct disorders, trying to kill themselves. Young people with emotional disorders are also more likely to smoke and drink alcohol than their peers - 23 per cent smoke and 20 per cent take drugs, as opposed to eight per cent among other young people.
"I'm pleased there hasn't been an increase, despite stresses such as exams and living in a more terrifying society," said Morley. "But more has to be done to improve mental health needs."
Morley also asked why more young people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were not prescribed medication. "Ritalin is very effective to treat ADHD," she said.
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