This report, which focuses on findings from the HBSC survey on adolescent mental health and wellbeing, highlights the challenges adolescents face, their perceptions of satisfaction with life and their overall sense of well-being.

While results varied widely across the countries and regions, the general picture since the HBSC survey in 2014 is of declines in adolescents’ life satisfaction and perceptions of excellent health, and increases in multiple health complaints. Worryingly, the well established gender differences in adolescent mental health persist, with girls systematically reporting worse mental health than boys across all indicators. Socioeconomic inequalities were evident in the findings, showing that adolescents from high-affluence families generally reported better mental health and well-being.

This high-quality evidence shows there is much to do to restore and replenish the mental health and well-being of children and young people in our Region.