Just getting on Young people’s views on gender, emotional well-being and mental health

This report explores gender differences in how acceptable and helpful various ways of coping with difficulties seem to the young people. It looks at the responses young people expect to get if they share difficulties with people in their lives, and some of their actual experiences of opening up to others. It then considers their views on the gender-sensitivity of professionals and services.

Our surveys and face-to-face engagement with more than 100 young people generated some key findings:

•  Some healthy ways of managing stress are widely acceptable to both male and female young people we surveyed: for example, having fun and exercising.
•  Young people are very aware of expectations on boys and men to appear strong and not show emotion.
•  Sharing problems with others seems more widely acceptable among the young women than young men, although not as clearly as common stereotypes might suggest.
• Some girls and young women described feeling that their difficulties are belittled by adults when they try to seek support. They perceived assumptions that girls’ distress is due to over-emotional reactions to minor issues with friendships and relationships. Some girls and young women expressed uncertainty about trusting female friends, although other females were an important source of support.
• The few trans young people we heard from did feel that gender stereotypes affected how they cope and sought help, to different degrees and in different ways. Two commented on the need for greater professional understanding of gender identity.
•  The areas in which the young people most wanted to see greater gender-sensitivity were information about support available; support within settings like schools, youth clubs and youth offending institutions; and how professionals relate to young people.

The conclusions and recommendations of this report are based on a whole project of which this report is one part. They call for active consideration of gender in work that impacts on children and young people’s mental health and emotional well-being. This includes policy-making, commissioning, service design and delivery, workforce development and research.