Dutch young people are generally healthier and happier than young people in many other European countries. This is evident from a study by the European department of the health organization WHO published Tuesday.
The WHO Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study looked at the mental health of 227,000 school children from 45 countries, including European countries and Canada. All young people examined were between eleven and fifteen years old.
Overall, the mental health of schoolchildren has declined between 2014 and 2018, the study found. Mental health declined in 26 other countries. Mental health improved in the Netherlands. Outside the Netherlands, the well-being of teenagers only increased in Croatia and Spain.
Good contact with parents
According to the research, the good mental health of Dutch young people can be explained by the generally good contact they have with their parents. 90 percent of those surveyed say they can talk to their mom about their concerns. In other countries this is on average 80 percent. 81 percent can speak well to their father, 65 percent of young people from other countries can.
In addition, Dutch school children are relatively little bullied (6 percent) and say they make little use of social media. Only 2 to 4 percent of Dutch schoolchildren say they check social media so often that it causes problems. This percentage is not lower in any country.
About a quarter of Dutch youth do experience sleep problems at least once a week. School pressure in the Netherlands is also increasing and many young people generally already drink alcohol. Of the fifteen-year-olds, between 18 and 19 percent have been drunk at least twice.
The HBSC survey is published every four years.
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