Mental Health Challenges in Childhood and Adolescence

Mental health difficulties in childhood and adolescence encompass a spectrum of conditions including anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, conduct problems and emerging psychoses. These disorders often begin early, with neurodevelopmental and emotional-behavioural symptoms frequently manifesting before mid-adolescence. Global estimates suggest that one in five young people meets criteria for a diagnosable mental health disorder, yet the vast majority remain undetected or untreated. Risk factors span genetic vulnerability, perinatal complications, adverse childhood experiences, family dysfunction and socioeconomic disadvantage. Protective influences include secure attachment, supportive school environments and timely access to evidence-based interventions. As the adolescent brain undergoes significant structural and functional maturation, early identification and tailored psychosocial or pharmacological support can alter trajectories, reducing the burden of chronic impairment. Cross-sector collaboration among education, social services and health care is essential to promote resilience, minimise stigma and ensure equitable delivery of preventive programmes and specialist care.

Research from Nature Portfolio

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Mental Health Challenges in Childhood and Adolescence publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in mental health challenges in childhood and adolescence across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Prevalence: Proportion of individuals in a defined population who have a specific disorder at a given time.

Incidence: Rate at which new cases of a disorder occur in a specified population over a defined period.

Socioeconomic status (SES): Composite measure of an individual’s or family’s economic and social position in relation to others, based on income, education and occupation.

Neurodevelopmental disorders: Conditions with onset in the developmental period characterised by impairments in personal, social, academic or occupational functioning.

Comorbidity: Co-occurrence of two or more distinct disorders or conditions within the same individual.

References

1. A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of mental disorders among children and adolescents in Europe. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (2022).
2. Incidence of mental disorders in the general population aged 1–30 years disaggregated by gender and socioeconomic status. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology (2023).
3. The relationship between below average cognitive ability at age 5 years and the child’s experience of school at age 9. Frontiers in Public Health (2025).