Disadvantaged teens may be missing out on hospital mental health support

Adolescents from deprived neighbourhoods with psychological difficulties are less likely to attend hospital for mental health-related issues than their advantaged peers with similar problems.

The UCL researchers analysed data from more than 4,000 millennials living in England, who were born in 1989-90 and have taken part in the Next Steps study since secondary school.

They examined study participants’ reports of their own mental health at age 15. The researchers then looked at data from linked NHS hospital records to see whether participants had attended hospital for mental health issues and self-harming from age 15 to 27. They also examined whether they had received mental health treatment, such as counselling, psychotherapy, and drama, art and music therapy.

Mental health inequalities

Poor mental health in adolescence increased the risk of psychological difficulties later on. Young people who reported symptoms of mental ill-health at age 15 were twice as likely as their counterparts without these issues to attend hospital for mental health issues and receive psychiatric treatment in their teens and 20s.

Teens from deprived neighbourhoods were just as likely to report symptoms of psychological distress at age 15 as their peers from advantaged areas. However, disadvantaged young people were less likely to attend hospital because of mental ill-health or self-harming, and less likely to get mental health treatment in hospital.

Rates of mental ill-health among millennials

At age 15, almost a fifth (18.9%) of adolescents had psychological difficulties, but less than one in 10 (8%) of those with mental health problems received hospital treatment for mental health-related issues by their late 20s.

The researchers noted that they only looked at information on mental health service use in hospitals, which usually captures more complex, severe cases. It is possible that young people received mental health support in other settings, such as at GP practices or in community health care.

“There may be a gap between mental health care need and service use among millennials.”
Dr Gergo Baranyi (UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies)

Lead author, Dr Gergo Baranyi (UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies) said: “Our new research suggests that there may be a gap between mental health care need and service use among millennials, with young people in disadvantaged areas missing out on important support in hospitals.

“It could be the case that hospital mental health services in less affluent areas are under resourced, or disadvantaged teens are less likely to seek out help. Seeking and accessing professional help is influenced by a wide range of factors, including knowledge, stigma, and perception of help-seeking and confidentiality, and also by systemic and structural factors such as costs, transportation difficulties and availability of help.

“However, early detection of mental health difficulties among young people is crucial in helping to provide adequate support and prevention. This will not only improve people’s lives in the long-term, but reduce the burden on hospital resources.”

Further information

‘Self-reported psychological distress in childhood and mental health-related hospital attendance among young adults: a 12-year data linkage cohort study from England,’ by Gergo Baranyi, Katie Harron, Nasir Rajah and Emla Fitzsimons is available on the Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology website.