Half of young people in Ireland have low levels of mental wellbeing, according to new research carried out by the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI).
The State of Our Young Nation report has exposed significant challenges for young women in particular. Compared with men aged between 18 and 29, women reported worse mental and financial wellbeing, lower satisfaction with pay and conditions and admitted coping worse with the cost-of-living.
The report found that one-in-five people have skipped meals due to rising costs.
Despite surface level satisfaction, there is an undercurrent of discontent among the younger generation, especially when they are directed to think about their future.
Nearly half (48pc) of young people are dissatisfied with their current housing situation, while more than half of those with rental or mortgage payments have seen costs increase in the last 12 months, with 44pc feeling financially worse off than the previous year.
Young people’s fear of being worse off than their parents is being driven by housing challenges and economic concerns. Many of those surveyed feel home ownership is getting further out of their reach.
More than half (52pc) of those surveyed are still living with their family, while one-in-two have experienced rent increases in the past year, with some facing rises of up to 30pc.
One-in-10 say they have had to take out a loan to cover monthly expenses.
The 750 adults surveyed were asked a set of specific questions relating to feelings of being optimistic, relaxed, feeling close to others and dealing with problems. Based on the mental wellbeing scale developed by Warwick and Edinburgh Universities, half of young people displayed low levels of wellbeing. Four-in-10 stated they felt relaxed either rarely or none of the time in the past two weeks. This appeared to peak among 18 to 22-year-olds, with 46pc saying they weren’t feeling relaxed.
Those aged 27 to 29 feel the least optimistic about the future. Nearly 4 in 10 (39pc) said they feel optimistic rarely or none of the time, compared to 28pc of 23 to 26-year-olds and 31pc of 18 to 22-year-olds. Women appear less optimistic about the future - with well over a third (38pc) of women stating they rarely feel optimistic about the future, compared to only a quarter (26pc) of men.
The report made a number of recommendations in addressing the challenges faced by young people. Among them are tackling housing and accommodation issues by introducing rent caps and increasing social and affordable housing supply.
The NYCI has called for the abolishment of sub-minimum wage rates for under 20s and a reduction in education fees.
Paul Gordon, NYCI director of policy and advocacy, said: “Many of this generation feel like their lives are being put on hold and this is manifesting in a very concerning finding that half of 18-29-year-olds have low mental wellbeing.
“In response, we are calling on the Government to take a far more coordinated approach to tackling the economic and social challenges facing young people by moving quickly to establish a cabinet sub-committee on young people.”