In numbers: Spike in children with suspected mental health issues

The organisation's annual report on children and young people's mental health explores the mental health of children in England by drawing on the experiences of 2,866 children and young people, with further information provided by parents for children aged seven to 16.

External circumstances, including experiences of education, social media, household economic circumstances, and family life, which may impact a young person's mental health are also examined.

• Long waits for mental health care blamed on bed and staff shortage

• Supporting children’s mental health in school

The report finds that one in four children aged 17 to 19 have a probable mental health disorder, an increase from the one in six highlighted in last year’s report.

It also finds that rates of mental disorders in children aged seven to 16 remain almost unchanged since 2020, though it adds that in 2022, the prevalence of a probable mental disorder was nearly twice as high in boys as in girls.

This year’s report, which comes amid the cost-of-living crisis, finds a corelation between financial hardship and mental health problems.

It finds that while one in five of children aged seven to 16 live in households that have experienced a reduction in income over the past year, this figure rose to one in four for children with a probable mental disorder.

The report also shows that 18 per cent of children in this age group with a probable mental disorder live in a household that had fallen behind on bill, rent or mortgage payments, compared with eight per cent of those unlikely to have a disorder.

Sophie Corlett, interim chief executive of mental health charity Mind, said the findings were “deeply worrying”, adding: “We’re seeing the toll of the cost-of-living crisis on young adults with mental health problems, who were seven times more likely than their peers without mental health problems to have experienced food insecurity in the last year.

“Despite the need for support continuing to rise, young people are still left facing an agonising wait in a system that cannot keep up with demand, and the UK government’s response so far has just not been good enough.”

The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was also explored in NHS Digital's annual report for the first time, finding that almost half of all children aged 11 to 16 were concerned about the pandemic’s impact on their exam results.

Amy Dicks, policy and impact manager at The Children’s Society, said the reports findings show a “desperate need of long-term support”.

She added: "The crisis in children’s mental health long pre-dated the pandemic, with a failing system turning children away or making them wait months on end for treatment.”

Social media’s relationship with mental health is also looked-at in the report which finds that children with a probable mental disorder are less likely to feel safe online, and one in four teenagers with a probable disorder have experienced bullying online – which is higher than the average rate among social media users of that age.

Dicks said: “It’s a real worry that one in eight children reported being bullied online and this underlines the importance of the Online Safety Bill progressing quickly through Parliament and offering strong proposals to protect children from dangers like cyber-bullying.”

The report also finds that 60 per cent of young people aged 17 to 19 had possible eating problems - a rise of 16 per cent since 2017.

Researchers note higher rates of possible eating problems in girls than boys across all age groups, with 76 per cent of girls aged 17 to 19 found to have possible problems with eating, compared with 45 per cent of boys.

Cases of self-harm are higher in children with mental health problems, the report finds, stating that a third of seven- to 16-year-olds and more than half of 17-to 24-year-olds with a probable mental disorder had tried to harm themselves.

The report’s findings have prompted children’s mental health experts to call for increased support for young people experiencing mental health problems.

Dicks said: “At The Children’s Society, we want early support hubs in every community so young people can get immediate support when issues arise, and the Government to measure children’s wellbeing so it is easier to identify those who are struggling and provide targeted action and investment preventing mental ill-health.”

Corlett, from Mind, added: “We cannot continue to watch young people’s mental health needs increase without seeing action. The UK government will be failing an entire generation unless it prioritises investment in young people’s mental health services, and specifically funds mental health hubs for young people.

“The provision of a network of early support hubs for young people across England would guarantee somewhere to go when they first start to struggle with their mental health – rather than being left to reach crisis point and needing more intensive, expensive support later on.”