Youth Mental Distress in Aotearoa New ZealandYouth Mental Distress in Aotearoa New Zealand

"Globally, youth mental health challenges are rising. Within Aotearoa New Zealan"d, our young people aged 15-24 are reporting rates of psychological distress higher than any other age group, and rates are particularly high among rangatahi Māori, rainbow young people and young people living in high deprivation areas. To better understand why mental wellbeing is declining, research undertaken by Koi Tū Centre for Informed Futures explored young people’s perceptions of the factors influencing youth mental health, including changing social, cultural and political landscapes. In collaborative, participatory workshops, we spoke to 176 young people in Auckland and Northland. We found that young people attributed youth mental distress to a perception of bleakness about the world around them and the future, a heavy burden of challenges and stressors, a lack of support and connection, and difficulty navigating a path through adolescence. We also connect these findings to important contributory factors operating much earlier in life, including maternal mental health during pregnancy and early bonding between parents and infants, which the adolescents themselves may not have been able to identify. This report is a desktop review of evidence-based approaches to improve youth mental health, particularly during the adolescent period, with some consideration of the impacts of interventions in the earlier years which are ultimately key to prevention. The recommended classes of action fall under six broad areas: equipping young people with resilience, targeting sources of distress, providing opportunities to connect and belong, improving experiences at school, making mental health services more accessible, and addressing the impact of social media. Strategic action across these six areas, at the levels of national and local government, communities, schools and families, could see a meaningful reversal in our youth mental health statistics. We suggest a suite of high-level actions that would then require subsequent development through engagement with stakeholders and key delivery agencies."--Exective summary, page 4.