New research calls the lack of government investment in youth mental health an ‘intergenerational injustice’. Sophie Webb, student researcher at the University of Birmingham, explains.
New beginnings
Youth is a developmental phase known for new beginnings: new education, new jobs, new friendships and relationships. It also coincides with many people’s first experiences with poor mental health. Living with anxiety or depression can cause disruption to the ongoing changes in a young person’s life. Latest research by the University of Birmingham calls the lack of government investment in youth mental health an “intergenerational injustice”.
Worldwide increase in mental ill health
In recent years, a marked rise in mental ill health has been reported. During the 2010s, mental health service use increased around the world, and researchers have proposed some potential explanations. These include anti-stigma campaigns which have increased general awareness of mental health, thereby increasing people’s contact with mental health services. The use of social media has also vastly increased. Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic and its lockdown effects were known to cause isolation.
Intergenerational effects
Anti-stigma campaigns, social media use and COVID-19 lockdowns are all recent phenomena whose effects on mental health appear negative, but their influence is yet to be truly understood. Another factor that needs to be addressed is the longer-term widening chasm between younger and older generations over their differing generational access to economic, social and physical resources. According to the recent Lancet Commission on Youth Mental Health, the deterioration in access may contribute to the observed decline of mental health among young people.
Affordable housing
In economic terms, access to decent housing is at the epicentre of the current cost-of-living crisis, as rents now take up 70% of the median under-30s household weekly expenditure. Access to genuinely affordable housing should be a pillar of a well-functioning society yet, compared to previous generations, today’s housing costs far outstrip young people’s earnings. This is thought to drive rates of housing-related anxiety and youth homelessness.
Student debt
While graduate educational attainment was once free in the UK and seen as a means to access higher standards of living, today’s unprecedentedly high student fees, combined with the need for many students to take out large maintenance loans for living costs, mean that today’s students report large student debts. This may be a factor in students reporting increases in academic pressures to pass higher education courses.
Employment rights
Another social change which young people bear the brunt of is a reduction in employment rights since the 1970s. Today, precarious work is much more commonplace than in the past. Young people have highlighted issues with short-term work contracts, low wages, the ‘gig’ economy of zero-hour contracts, or long hours and poor working conditions. Once again, these are associated with negative mental health outcomes.
Climate anxiety
In terms of climate change, previous generations enjoyed a more predictable UK climate and lower levels of climate anxiety. Sadly, the recent increase in adverse weather events is driving feelings of climate anxiety among young people, compounded by government inaction to address the climate crisis. Even if not experiencing destructive events such as mass displacement or climate-related death themselves, young people around the world are still frequently exposed to these events.
‘Intergenerational injustice’
Inequities between younger and older generations continue to widen as governments fail to act. This has spawned the concept of ‘intergenerational injustice’ among policymakers. Intergenerational injustice is the idea that young people are systematically disadvantaged in policy compared to older generations, whether it be reduced access to a welfare safety net, lower investment in their generation such as in housing or higher education, or how the cost of government spending falls disproportionately on their generation via higher taxation. Nowhere is that more visible than in the lack of government spending on early mental ill-health interventions. In 2023, The Royal College of Psychiatrists went so far as to call on the government to prioritise the mental health of babies and young children.
Bring young people back into communities
The inaction of governments has resulted in the need to cast the net wider to address intergenerational injustice as a matter of urgency, given its relationship with poor mental health outcomes. Organised co-operation between policymakers, health services, activists and third sector groups is key to an effective response. Groups such as the Intergenerational Foundation in the UK, whose campaigns are informed by research, and Generation Squeeze in Canada, are two examples of a call to collective action. So far, action has brought about policy changes such as the Wellbeing for Future Generations Act (2015) in Wales.
Wider effects
While all youth can be affected by intergenerational injustice and subsequent poorer mental health, those who already live with serious mental health problems may be particularly vulnerable to generational inequities. This is due to their experience of a mental health disorder already leaving them at a disadvantage in being able to access housing, employment and education. Consequently, they may require more tailored mental health support.
Intersectional inequalities
It may also be the case that young people who experience forms of marginalisation, such as racism, classism or heterosexism, will experience the negative effects of intergenerational injustice to a greater extent. Ongoing research suggests that addressing issues of intergenerational injustice would be likely to improve young people’s recovery outcomes following serious mental health problems. Their access to social determinants of health (or a lack thereof) is likely to play a crucial role in their long-lasting improvement.
Will election promises come true?
For better outcomes, greater investment in high-quality health and mental healthcare should be paired with system-wide acknowledgement of young people’s experiences with intergenerational inequities. The new government’s ambition for ‘this to be the healthiest generation of children ever’ is welcome. Also welcome are the pledges to provide access to a mental health professional in every school, as well as the establishment of Youth Future’s Hubs in every local area so that children and young people can access early support for their mental health. However, while previous governments committed to extending Child and Mental Health Services to under-25s, the new government has yet to commit to extending this much needed, and still poorly funded mental health safety net.
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Photo by Marcel Strauß on Unsplash.