More than five years after the world pandemic of COVID-19, mental health remains at the heart of concerns, especially among young people.
Indeed, according to a new report from the Montaigne Institute, in collaboration with the French Mutuality and the Terram Institute, a quarter of 15-29 year olds would be in depression.
One in three young people has already thought of hurting
In detail, this work, carried out with 5,600 young people, also reveals that 31 % of them have “already considered hurting themselves” or “thought that it would be better to die”.
To the question of their mental state, only 14 % of young people questioned spontaneously declare themselves in poor mental health.
But applied to the PHQ-9 reference clinical test, the sample reveals a much heavier reality: 25 % suffer from depression. The WHO defines this disorder as “persistent sadness” or “a sustainable loss of the ability to experience interest or pleasure for activities that provided it”.
Often underestimated suffering
Loneliness stands out as one of the most striking symptoms. Almost half of 18-34 year olds say they feel vulnerable to the risk of loneliness, 15 to 20 points more than older generations.
Young people without active social life are 59 % to feel a “persistent loneliness” against 41 % on average. The absence of sports or cultural activities still accentuates this feeling.
Fractures between cities, campaigns and overseas
The place of life plays an important role. In large metropolises, 44 % of young people say they suffer from loneliness, compared to 36 % in rural areas. If city life offers more opportunities for outings, it does not protect isolation. Urban young people are 27 % suffering from depression, compared to 20 % in young rural people.
The differences are even more striking overseas. In Guyana, 52 % of young people aged 15 to 29 are affected, 44 % in Martinique and 43 % in Mayotte. Underequent figures in mainland France, which reflect social, economic difficulties and more limited access to public services.
Women, students and active assets on the front line
The genre is also a strong marker. 27 % of young women have depression, compared to 22 % of men. Among the students, more than one in two says they are regularly stressed. The authors of the study not only point to menstrual pain, but also “underestimated reasons” such as wage inequalities, mental burden and “above all, experience of sexist and sexual violence”.
In addition, the mental health of young people also depends on their professional status. While 23 % of full -time employees suffer from depression, this rate increases to 31 % in part -time and 36 % among self -employed workers.
Among students and assets, 87 % say they are regularly stressed by their studies or work, fueled by performance pressure, precarious contracts and the future prospects.
Social networks and eco-anxiety aggravate discomfort
Finally, social networks accentuate vulnerability: 44 % of young people who spend more than eight hours a day on these platforms are in depression, against 15 % of those who spend less than an hour.
Intensive use often accumulates other weaknesses: isolation, precariousness and lack of offline activities. But the authors recall that the networks also fulfill “a real social function” by keeping the link and being informed.
Added to this is environmental anxiety. Two thirds of 18-24 year olds say they associate 2050 with a disturbing future, and a third even imagined it as “the end of the world”. The “eco-anxiety” is now recognized as a psychological suffering in its own right.
Faced with these observations, the government has erected mental health in great national cause in 2025. But the investigation recalls obvious: behind the percentages, thousands of young people live with persistent sadness, heavy loneliness and a vague future.