1001 young people completed the questionnaire, the findings in this report are based on a total of 994 responses.
Mental Health
• An overwhelming majority of young people (85%) responded that they were feeling either 'good' or
'fantastic' at the time of completing the questionnaire.1 in 8 young people reported feeling either ‘not
good’ or 'terrible' on the day.
• Almost half of the respondents (49%) reported feeling good, happy or fantastic/brilliant during the
month preceding the Consultation. 21% reported feelings of stress or depression during the same
period.
• Respondents highlighted family issues (parental pressure, bereavement, divorce, fighting and
arguments) as having the biggest effect on young people’s mental health and wellbeing – closely
followed by School/Exams/Teachers and Bullying.
• When asked who respondents would go to for help and support if they were unhappy, 8.4% of
responses cited ‘someone who provides health services’. This compared to 34% of responses for a
‘family member’ or ‘friends’, which was the most commonly reported combination.
• The vast majority (85%) of those who responded said they had not used mental health services.
• Of those who had used a mental health service, 82% reported a positive experience (rated Excellent
or Good).
• 53% of respondents confirmed that they had received education at school about feelings and
emotions and how to deal with them. 83% of them rated the education given as either ‘Excellent’ or
‘Good’. However, a significant minority (35.4%) directly commented that there was a need for more
information and education around mental health and wellbeing.
CONTEXT AND BACKGROUND
In today's political and economic climate, service providers of all descriptions are listening to and acting upon
the views of their communities - not through duty, but through necessity. The need for such consultation takes
on renewed impetus where the NHS is concerned and with young people as service users of today and
(crucially) tomorrow, NHS Tayside has recognised it must listen to its young people. The Youth Talkin’ Health
group has been the face and facilitator to begin this dialogue.
The group's young volunteers quickly agreed that the issues of sexual health and mental health were the most
difficult, important and pressing health concerns facing young people.Initial research confirmed our view that
sexual health in Scotland is poor. Sexually transmitted infections, such as Chlamydia, are widespread and
increasing, while teenage conceptions are amongst the highest in Western Europe.
1
Youth Talkin’ Health members are well aware that mental health problems affect children and young people’s
behaviour, learning, physical health and relationships. A little research in this area confirmed the extent of the
problem - around 10% of children and young people in Scotland have mental health problems so significant
that they interfere with their lives on a day to day basis.
2
This equates to roughly 7500 to 8000 young people
in Tayside – or around 3 children from each school class.
This report describes the detailed findings of the Mental Health and Sexual Health Consultation planned and
carried out by Youth Talkin’ Health. Responses were gathered during August and September 2010. Where
respondents’ comments are quoted, these are verbatim.
LIMITATIONS
• Self Reporting - All of the responses reported here are based on the young people who took part
self-reporting. While there is no baseline data against which to measure many of the findings, several
conclusions are in line with what is already known, or has been previously shown. Where this is the
case, the reference is given in the text.
• Spoiled returns – 1001 young people responded to this questionnaire. Seven completed
questionnaires were judged to be ‘spoiled’ and have not been included in this analysis.
• Questionnaire layout – It was noted that, in a number of cases, respondents did not always follow
the instructions contained within the questionnaire to navigate progress through the document. In
particular, depending on their answer to a specific question, respondents would sometimes ignore (or
misunderstand) the instructions to move to a specifically numbered question. To mitigate the effect of
this, the eligible population for each question has been identified through cross-analysis, and only
those relevant responses analysed.
• Interpretation – There is a suggestion, for some questions, that young people’s interpretation and
understanding of what is being asked, differed. The Questionnaire was piloted at an early stage in the
design process and these differences did not present themselves as an issue at that stage. Where it
is suspected that this may be the case, this is reflected in the narrative of the specific questions.
• Geographical analysis – Specific instructions relating to how respondents should complete the
questionnaire were not always followed. Respondents did not always complete the Postcode box
(Question 6) as requested. Differences were noted, also, in interpretation of young people’s
perception and description of their local ‘area’. Consistent data on these two questions has therefore
not been collected and geographical analysis based on this has not been possible. Since almost 90%
of the young people who completed the questionnaire recorded their status as ‘at school’, an
alternative analysis of which school respondents attend(ed) has been included, with schools being
mapped to local authority areas.
• Responses by area - Response rates from Dundee and P & K are broadly similar (24.3% and
25.3%) – with almost double the number responding from Angus (48%). 60% of the total responses
came from the schools nominated by the Directors of Education in the three local authority areas. The
other 40% of responses were spread across the three areas – with Angus providing by far the largest
contribution - 253 (65%). This was because the Consultation was made available to all schools across
Angus through the schools’ website, while the other two areas restricted school website availability to
the nominated schools.
1
Respect and Responsibility – Strategy and Action Plan for Improving Sexual Health, The Scottish Executive (2005)
2
Needs Assessment Report on Child & Adolescent Mental Health, Public Health Institute of Scotland, May 2003
Discussion and Conclusion
MENTAL HEALTH
The 2003 Public Health Institute of Scotland report “Needs Assessment Report on Child & Adolescent Mental
Health” warned that around 10% of children and young people in Scotland have mental health problems so
significant that they interfere with their lives on a day to day basis. These statistics were reflected in the
findings from our survey.
On the day that they filled in the questionnaire, 12% of young people reported feeling either not good or
terrible. And, in the month before that, over 20% of them recorded feelings of stress or depression. The most
commonly reported reason for these feeling was family issues, closely followed by school/teachers/exams.
When asked about experiences of existing mental health services, the vast majority (83%) of young people
who had used any of these, reported a positive response. Comments on the quality of services included
issues around opening hours and staff availability, demeaning or patronising questions, bias in relation to
sexuality and the friendliness (or otherwise) of staff. Of those who had not used a service, many were unable
to name a specific service, commenting simply that they knew services were available.
Taking these findings with the fact that 4 out of 10 respondents reported they had not received mental health
education at school and that around 9% responded ‘no-one’ when asked who they would go to for advice or
help when feeling unhappy, there is a pressing need for services to be much more widely promoted to
increase awareness among young people of what help is available and how to access this. And if, as seems
likely, increased promotion would result in a subsequent increase in demand for services, there is adequate
evidence to demonstrate the cost benefit of early intervention
Recommendations
MENTAL HEALTH
1. Schools should take into account the stress young people report as being associated with exams and
other assessment work. Pupils should know they have a safe and confidential place to go to for advice or
assistance where they can speak to an appropriately trained individual if they feel school-work is
overwhelming them, or are otherwise feeling overly stressed due to school or home life.
2. High quality and consistent mental health education should be given an equivalent priority to topics such
as sex education and career planning and provided to all school pupils as an essential life-skill.
3. All guidance teachers should receive training to assist them in identifying pupils who are urgently mentally
distressed or unhappy, and the appropriate action to take according to the circumstances.
4. All young people should have access to counselling should they feel they need it. A counselling drop-in
service should be provided in all schools.
5. There must be no bias against young LGBT people in the delivery of mental health service or education.
Young LGBT people face additional challenges growing up and may be among the most vulnerable. They
must know there is a safe place for them to go to speak to someone about issues regarding their
sexuality.
6. Existing mental health services should be much more widely promoted to increase awareness among
young people of what help is available and how to access this.
7. In promoting available mental health services and informing young people of how to access them, new
technologies should be used. There should be a clearly branded high profile website, such as Cool2talk,
where young people can easily access such information.*
8. All staff who have a duty of care or are providing information, support or education to young people need
to be properly trained in how to deal with young people who seek advice or disclose mental health
concerns to them. They should understand the importance of avoiding patronising or demeaning speech
and of making sure young people do not feel as though they are being judged in such situations.
9. The stigma around mental health must be combated. We believe the key to this is more open discussion
and education around mental health from a young age.
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