A team of experts at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology have suggested in their new study that nearly half of teenage females in Norway are plagued with distress.
“The aim of this paper was to describe overall changes in mental health among adolescents and adults in a Norwegian population over the three last decades and discuss some potential explanations for these changes,” the study reads.
The study released in BMJ involved the administration of health surveys to participants aged 13-79 within a Norwegian county.
The adolescents surveyed were assessed for a history of subjective anxiety and depressive symptoms.
“Adolescents’ and young adults’ mental distress increased sharply, especially between 2006–2008 and 2017–2019,” the findings showed. “However, depressive symptoms instead declined among adults aged 60 and over and anxiety symptoms remained largely unchanged in these groups.”
“Our trend data from the HUNT Study in Norway indicate poorer mental health among adolescents and young adults that we suggest are related to relevant changes in young people’s living conditions and behaviour, including the increased influence of screen-based media.”
