Survey reveals shocking number of young Kiwis in high psychological distress

An increasing number of young people are experiencing high psychological distress.

The NZ Health Survey 2024/25 found almost 23% of those aged 15-24 years felt this way.

Now, Te Hiringa Mahara - Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission is calling for increased urgency to improve access to services for young people.

Chief executive Karen Orsborn says they are not alone in sounding the alarm.

“We continue to see too many young people missing out on vital specialist mental health and addiction care when they need it”.

Ms Orsborn says there are a variety of reasons behind the high rates of distress, as young people are living in a very different world than previous generations.

“Financial pressures, events across the world, climate change…”

The Commission wants Health NZ to take action by rolling out youth-specific crisis responses, streamlined pathways into care and acute community options.

"We’ve got to ensure young people know where to seek help and when they do, there is capacity and workforce available to respond”, said Ms Orsborn.

“We are really concerned to see the ongoing trend of a decrease in young people able to access services”.

The report also suggests the current system is less responsive to the high level of mental health needs of Māori, Pacific and disabled people.

Some summary of key findings:

- 183,356 people used specialist services in 2024/25, an increase of 6,072 (3.4% increase) compared with 2023-24

-  Over the last five years almost 5,000 fewer 19-25 year olds (a 20% decrease), and 2,800 fewer 0-18 year olds (a 6% decrease) accessed services.

-  The number 15-24 year old's who experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress in the past 4 weeks has increased from 7.7% in 2014/15 to 22.9% in 2024/25

If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available.

Click here for a list of mental health resources.