Exam stress, extreme heat, uncertain future: Why young people’s mental health is becoming a bigger concern

That question runs through a new United Nations report, Youth Mental Health and Well-Being in an Uncertain World: A Global Call to Action. It calls for a shift from treating mental health primarily as an individual health issue to looking at the social, economic and environmental conditions in which young people grow, study, work and connect.

The world around a young person matters

The report proposes a Youth Mental Health and Well-being Ecosystem Model. The phrase may sound technical but the idea is fairly simple: a young person’s mental health is shaped by much more than what happens inside a consulting room. School, work, housing, family, friendships, climate, conflict, digital spaces and the wider community all matter. So do sport, art, culture and spirituality.

Dr Michael A. Lindsey, Dean of the NYU Silver School of Social Work and an academic committee reviewer of the report, says, “We fail to ask if they also face challenges relating to safety, housing, food, or obstacles that create stress in their lives,” he says. A young person worried about money, housing, safety or the future may understandably experience distress. That does not mean clinical care is unnecessary. It means the circumstances surrounding that young person matter too.

Pressures begin early in India

The country’s National Mental Health Survey, conducted by NIMHANS with support from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, found that 7.3% of adolescents aged 13–17 had a mental disorder, with nearly 9.8 million young Indians estimated to need active intervention. The survey covered 12 states and was conducted in 2015–16, so the figures are not a measure of the situation today.

But the survey offers an important insight: the pressures and needs of adolescents are not uniform. Reported prevalence was 13.5% in urban metros compared with 6.9% in rural areas. The survey also found that nearly 80% of people affected by mental health conditions had not received care after the onset of illness. The gap between need and access is crucial in a country where a young person in a large city may have a counsellor or specialist within reach, while someone in a smaller town, village or remote community may have far fewer options.

The pressures, too, vary. For some young Indians, it is the relentless competition around board examinations, entrance tests and professional courses. For others, it may be unemployment, financial uncertainty, family conflict, relationship pressures or loneliness. For students and young workers exposed to extreme heat, climate is increasingly part of the picture as well.

India’s suicide data underline the importance of looking at these wider social pressures. A 2026 study in PLOS Global Public Health, based on mortality data from 2001–2019, estimated that about one in four suicide deaths globally occurred in India. It found that 44% of suicide deaths in the study period were among people aged 15–29. The researchers also found substantial regional differences, with suicide risks in selected southern high-burden states considerably higher than in selected northern states.

Prevention before crisis

This is where Prof Ramesh Raghavan of the NYU Silver School of Social Work uses the phrase “social vaccines”—positive environment and support systems that help protect mental well-being before a crisis develops.

He points to India’s school meal programme as one example. A school meal is usually discussed in terms of nutrition and attendance. But it can do more: ease some pressure on families, encourage children to remain in school and support physical development and learning. These are not mental health services in the conventional sense, but they can contribute to a more secure environment for a child.

The same principle can apply to safe schools, decent work, stable housing, sport, recreation, supportive families and communities, and safer digital spaces.

From the clinic to the community

Revati Phalkey, Director of the United Nations University International Institute for Global Health, says the ecosystem approach can help governments move beyond fragmented responses and bring mental health into policies across sectors. Nandita Bhatla, Vice President and Country Director, WorldBeing India, puts it more simply. “Young people’s mental health is not a side issue,” she says. “It is central to sustainable development.”

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