This page provides the source details for indicators used in Mapping the mental health of the UK’s young people, in the order that the maps are shown in the tool.
Where the title used for an indicator in the map varies sufficiently from the indicator used in the source, both have been given.
Sources in order of map view
| Map 1 – Proportion of children and young people in UK local authority populations | |||
| Indicator | Nation | Year | Source |
| Proportion of total population that is 24 years and under (%) | England | 2023 | Office for National Statistics (ONS) – Population estimates for England and Wales: mid 2023 link |
| Proportion of total population that is 24 years and under (%) | Wales | 2023 | Office for National Statistics (ONS) – Population estimates for England and Wales: mid 2023 link |
| Proportion of total population that is 24 years and under (%) | Scotland | 2023 | National Records of Scotland (NRS) – Mid-2023 Population Estimates Scotland link |
| Proportion of total population that is 24 years and under (%) | Northern Ireland | 2022 | Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) – Mid-2022 Population Estimates: Single year of age and sex – link |
| Map 2 – Prevalence of mental health difficulties among children and young people in the UK | ||||
| Indicator title in map | Indicator title in source | Nation | Year | Source |
| Prevalence of mental health difficulties in England | Prevalence of probable mental health disorder, 8-10 yrs (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Prevalence of mental health difficulties in England | Prevalence of probable mental health disorder – 11-16 yrs (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Prevalence of mental health difficulties in England | Prevalence of probable mental health disorder – 17-19 yrs (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Prevalence of mental health difficulties in England | Prevalence of probable mental health disorder – 20-25 yrs (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Prevalence of mental health difficulties in Wales | Clinically significant emotional difficulties among 7-11 years old (%) | Wales | 2022-2023 | School Health Research Network (SHRN) 2022/23 link |
| Prevalence of mental health difficulties in Wales | Very high SDQ total scale score – 2021-2022 – 11 – 16 yrs (%) | Wales | 2021-2022 | 2021/22 Health Behaviour in School-aged Children Survey and School Health Research Network Student Health and Wellbeing Survey link |
| Prevalence of mental health difficulties in Scotland | Very high SDQ total scale score among 4–12-year-olds (%) | Scotland | 2017-2021 | The Scottish Government – Scottish Health Survey 2021- link |
| Prevalence of mental health difficulties in Scotland | Very high SDQ total scale score – 2015-17 – 11-16 yrs (%) | Scotland | 2015-2017 | 2015- 2017 Realigning Children’s Services Wellbeing Surveys link |
| Prevalence of mental health difficulties in Scotland | 16–24-year-olds with a GHQ score indicating a possible psychiatric disorder | Scotland | 2022 | Scottish Health Survey 2022 link |
| Prevalence of mental health difficulties in Northern Ireland | Prevalence estimates for any diagnosis among 5–10-year-olds | Northern Ireland | 2020 | Youth Wellbeing Prevalence Survey 2020 link |
| Prevalence of mental health difficulties in Northern Ireland | Prevalence estimates for any mental health diagnosis among 11–15-year-olds | Northern Ireland | 2020 | Youth Wellbeing Prevalence Survey 2020 link |
| Prevalence of mental health difficulties in Northern Ireland | Prevalence estimates for any mental health diagnosis -2020 – Northern Ireland – 16-19 years | Northern Ireland | 2020 | Youth Wellbeing Prevalence Survey 2020 link |
| Map 3 – Prevalence of eating disorders among children and young people | ||||
| Indicator title in map | Indicator title in the source | Nation | Year | Source |
| Prevalence of eating disorders among children and young people in England | Prevalence of (any) eating disorders for 11-16 yr olds in England (2023) (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Prevalence of eating disorders among children and young people in Northern Ireland | Prevalence of (any) eating disorders for 11-15 yr olds in Northern Ireland (2023) (%) | Northern Ireland | 2020 | Youth Wellbeing Prevalence Survey 2020 link |
| Prevalence of eating disorders among children and young people in England | Prevalence of (any) eating disorders for 17–19-year-olds in England (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Prevalence of eating disorders among children and young people in Northern Ireland | Prevalence of (any) eating disorders for 16–19-year-olds in Northern Ireland (%) | Northern Ireland | 2020 | Youth Wellbeing Prevalence Survey 2020 link |
| Prevalence of eating disorders among children and young people in England | Prevalence of (any) eating disorders for 20–25-year-olds in England (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Map 4 – Self-harm incidence among children and young people | ||||
| Indicator title in map | Indicator title in the source | Nation | Year | Source |
| Self-harm incidence in England | Self-harm incidence among 8-10 yr olds (Over the whole of their lifetime, child tried to harm themselves) (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Self-harm incidence in England | Self-harm incidence 2023 among 11-16 yr olds (Over the whole of their lifetime, child tried to harm themselves) (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Self-harm incidence in England | Self-harm incidence among 17-24 yr olds in (Over the whole of their lifetime, child tried to harm themselves) (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Self-harm incidence in Scotland | Self-harm incidence among 16-24 yr olds (Ever deliberately self-harmed with suicide not intended) (%) | Scotland | 2021-2022 | Scottish Health Survey 2022 link |
| Self-harm incidence in Northern Ireland | Self-harm incidence among 11-19 yr olds (Over the whole of their lifetime, child tried to harm themselves) (%) | Northern Ireland | 2020 | Youth Wellbeing Prevalence Survey 2020 link |
| Map 5 – Rates of school absence by local authority | |||
| Indicator | Nation | Year | Source |
| Absence among school age pupils (% of half days missed) | England | 2022/23 | Department for Education – Pupil absence in schools in England – Academic year 2022/23 – link |
| Absence among school age pupils (% of half days missed) | Wales | 2022/23 | StatsWales – Absenteeism – link |
| Absence among school age pupils (% of half days missed) | Scotland | 2022/23 | Scottish Government – School education statistics – link |
| Absence among school age pupils (% of half days missed) | Northern Ireland | 2021/22 | Northern Ireland Department of Education – Attendance at grant aided primary, post primary and special schools 2021/22 – link |
| Map 6 – Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced bullying | ||||
| Indicator title in map | Indicator title in the source | Nation | Year | Source |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced bullying (in person) | Experience of bullying in person for 11-16 yr olds in the last 12 months (2023) (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced bullying (online) | Experience of bullying online in the last 12 months for 17–25-year-olds in England (2023) (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced bullying (online) | Experience of bullying online in the last 12 months for 11–16-year-olds in England (2023) (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced bullying (in person) | Experience of bullying in person in the last 2 months for 11–16-year-olds in Wales (2021) (%) | Wales | 2021 | School Health Research Network (SHRN) 2021 – link |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced bullying (online) | Experience of bullying online in the last 2 months for 11–16-year-olds in Wales (2021) (%) | Wales | 2021 | School Health Research Network (SHRN) 2021 – link |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced bullying (any) | Experience of bullying in the last year for 8–14-year-olds in Scotland (2021/22) (%) | Scotland | 2021-22 | Scottish Government – Health and Wellbeing Census Scotland 2021-2022 – link |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced bullying (in person) | Experience of bullying in person in the last 2 months for 11–19-year-olds in Northern Ireland (2020) (%) | Northern Ireland | 2020 | Youth Wellbeing Prevalence Survey 2020 – link |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced bullying (online) | Experience of bullying online in the last 2 months for 11–19-year-olds in Northern Ireland (2020) (%) | Northern Ireland | 2020 | Youth Wellbeing Prevalence Survey 2020 – link |
| Map 7 – Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced loneliness | ||||
| Indicator title in the map | Indicator title in the source | Nation | Year | Source |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced loneliness in England | 11–16-year-olds who were ‘often or always’ lonely in England (2023) % | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced loneliness in Scotland | 11–18-year-olds who were ‘often or always’ lonely in Scotland (2021) (%) | Scotland | 2021 | Health and Wellbeing Census Scotland 2021- 2022 link |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced loneliness in England | 17–22-year-olds who were ‘often or always’ lonely in England (2023) (%) | England | 2023 | Mental Health of Children and Young People in England 2023 – wave 4 follow up to the 2017 survey – link |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced loneliness in Wales | 16–24-year-olds who were ‘often or always’ lonely in Wales (2022-23) (%) | Wales | 2022-2023 | National Survey for Wales – 2022-23 – link |
| Percentage of children and young people who’ve experienced loneliness in Northern Ireland | 16–24-year-olds who were ‘often or always’ lonely in Northern Ireland (2021-22) (%) | Northern Ireland | 2021-2022 | Individual Wellbeing in Northern Ireland Report 2021/22 – link |
| Map 8 – Rates of mental health and other needs across local authorities in England | |||
| Indicator | Nation | Year | Source |
| Primary school pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs as primary SEND category (%) | England | 2022-2023 | Office for Health Improvement and Disparities: Fingertips Public Health profiles link |
| Secondary school pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs as primary SEND category (%) | England | 2022-2023 | Office for Health Improvement and Disparities: Fingertips Public Health profiles link |
| All school pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs as primary SEND category (%) | England | 2022-2023 | Office for Health Improvement and Disparities: Fingertips Public Health profiles link |
| Children (under 18s) in need due to abuse or neglect (per 10,000) | England | 2018 | Office for Health Improvement and Disparities: Fingertips Public Health profiles link |
| Children in need (under 18s) due to family stress or dysfunction or absent parenting (per 10,000) | England | 2017 | Office for Health Improvement and Disparities: Fingertips Public Health profiles link |
| NHS hospital admissions for mental health conditions among under 18s (per 100,000) | England | 2022-2023 | Office for Health Improvement and Disparities: Fingertips Public Health profiles link |
| New referrals of children (under 18s) to secondary mental health services (per 100,000) | England | 2019-2020 | Office for Health Improvement and Disparities: Fingertips Public Health profiles link |
| Rate of children in the care system (per 100,000) | England | 2022/23 | Population Health Analysis, Office for Health Improvement and Disparities : Fingertips Public Health profiles: link |
| School pupils with (any) special educational needs (%) | England | 2022/23 | Department for Education: Fingertips Public Health profiles – link |
| Proportion of 16- to 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) or whose activity is not known (%) | England | 2022/23 | Department for Education (DfE), NEET and participation – link |
| Map 9 – Rate of suicide among children and young people in the UK | ||||
| Indicator title in map | Indicator title in source | Nation | Year | Source |
| Rate of suicide among children and young people (per 100,000) | Age-standardised suicide rate among 10–24-year-olds | England | 2018-2022 | Office for Health Improvement and Disparities: Fingertips Public Health profiles link |
| Rate of suicide among children and young people (per 100,000) | Suicide rate among 10–24-year-olds | Wales | 2022-2023 | Public Health Wales – Real Time Suspected Suicide Surveillance (RTSSS) link |
| Rate of suicide among children and young people (per 100,000) | Suicide rate among 24 years and under | Northern Ireland | 2022 | National Statistics – Suicide in Northern Ireland link |
| Rate of suicide among children and young people (per 100,000) | Suicide rate among 11–25-year-olds | Scotland | 2017-2021 | National Records of Scotland – link |
Notes
Hospital admission of under 18s for mental health conditions (per 100,000)
Relevant indicator definition and supporting information from the Fingertips Public Health profile is reproduced below:
Data refer to episodes of admission and not persons. Any indicator based on hospital admissions may be influenced by local variation in referral and admission practices as well as variation in incidence or prevalence. […] The indicator measures first finished episodes for all persons aged 0 to 17 years with primary diagnosis codes F00 to F99 (Mental and behavioural disorders). […] From 2018/19 onwards, all sub-national counts are rounded to the nearest 5 and counts of 1-7 are suppressed. Rates are calculated using rounded counts, and confidence intervals are calculated using unrounded counts. Values relating to City of London and Isles of Scilly have been combined with Hackney and Cornwall.
New referrals of under 18s to secondary mental health services (per 100,000)
Relevant indicator definition and supporting information from the Fingertips Public Health profile is reproduced below:
Number of referrals opening in the financial year to secondary mental health services, aggregated into quinary age bands (0-4, 5-9, 85-90, 90+), based on age on referral. Note that one person can be referred multiple times in each financial year and all their referrals are included in this indicator. This is a measure of activity, not the patients in receipt of that activity […] Some mental health providers have single point of access (SPA) services, which may influence the numbers of referrals generated. Referral to SPA is for triage, and there is an additional referral from there. Areas with these systems can have higher referral rates due to this double counting. Users of this data should be aware of this and interpret data for their local area accordingly.
Proportion of 16- to 17-year-olds not in education, employment or training (NEET)
Relevant indicator definition and supporting information from the Fingertips Public Health profile is reproduced below:
In 2022, Surrey implemented a new Education Management System which saw the integration of Surrey’s NCCIS returns with their wider education data. The migration process has resulted in many data quality issues, which have impacted Surrey’s performance. Since caution is advised when using Surrey’s NEET/Not known figures for this year, we have decided to exclude data for this unitary authority from the map.
Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness
On 1 April 2023 two new unitary authorities were created and replaced Cumbria County Council (see here). As the map tool includes data points at a unitary authority or local authority level which have been originally collected both before and after this date, there is some inconsistency in whether data was available for each of the new unitary authorities. For this reason, there are some indicators where figures for Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness cannot be found or calculated and so they have not been included in some parts of the map tool.
