NI pupils’ mental wellbeing improves, but many with worries still do not seek help

Sunday 01 November 2026

Fewer than half of Northern Ireland pupils who had experienced mental health worries sought help, a major survey of 11–16-year-olds has found.

The findings show improvement since 2022, with fewer pupils reporting definite concerns or signs of loneliness. However, almost one-third were classified as having low mental wellbeing, with girls reporting greater difficulties than boys.

The Department of Health’s Young Persons’ Behaviour and Attitudes Survey 2025 bulletin, published on Friday 30 October, draws on responses from 3,034 pupils who completed its mental health and wellbeing questionnaire.

More pupils seek help but a gap remains

Asked whether they had ever experienced concerns or worries about their mental health, 13% said they definitely had and a further 34% said they had to some extent. Together, that represents 47% of respondents, down from 51% in 2022.

Among those with concerns, 46% had sought help, an increase from 35% in the previous survey. Just over half had therefore not sought help for their worries.

Family members were the people pupils were most likely to approach. The report states: “The most common reason noted for not seeking help was that they felt they could handle things on their own.”

Boys with concerns were less likely to seek help than girls, at 42% compared with 49%. Across respondents, 86% said they would know where to go for help with a personal or emotional problem.

Wellbeing improves since 2022

The proportion reporting definite mental health concerns fell from 19% to 13%, while the proportion showing signs of loneliness on the UCLA loneliness scale dropped from 37% to 28%. The loneliness figure was similar to the 30% recorded in 2019.

Average mental wellbeing also improved, with the survey’s comparable score rising from 21.1 in 2022 to 22.3 in 2025. Higher scores indicate better wellbeing.

Nevertheless, 32% of pupils fell into the low wellbeing category, compared with 56% in the moderate category and 12% in the high category. These classifications are based on questionnaire responses and are not clinical diagnoses.

Girls report greater mental health difficulties

More than half of girls — 54% — had experienced mental health concerns at least to some extent, compared with 40% of boys. The figure for girls had fallen from 63% in 2022, while the proportion for boys was unchanged.

Girls were also more likely to have low mental wellbeing: 39%, compared with 24% of boys.

On the UCLA scale, 37% of girls showed signs of loneliness, against 20% of boys. Almost half of girls, 48%, said they sometimes or often felt they had no-one to talk to, compared with 33% of boys.

Feeling left out was reported sometimes or often by 57% of girls and 37% of boys. The report says these experiences had become less common for both groups since 2022.

Older pupils more likely to report concerns

Pupils in Years 11 and 12 were the most likely to report mental health concerns at least to some extent, at 53% and 54% respectively.

Around one in five Year 8 pupils showed signs of loneliness, compared with around one-third of pupils in Years 9–12. Year 8 pupils were also more likely than those in other years to have high mental wellbeing.

These findings compare different groups of pupils. They do not track the same children through school or establish what caused the differences between year groups.

Positive childhood experiences linked to better wellbeing

The report examined positive and supportive childhood experiences through ten questions covering areas including trusted adults, friendships, school and feelings about oneself.

More than three-quarters of pupils, 77%, were in the highest category for these experiences. Almost all reported having at least one parent or carer with whom they felt safe, 99%, and at least one good friend, 98%.

However, low mental wellbeing was recorded among 64% of pupils in the combined middle and lowest categories for positive childhood experiences, compared with 21% in the highest category. Definite mental health concerns were reported by 33% and 7% respectively.

Further statistical analysis, accounting for other measured factors, also found an association between fewer positive childhood experiences and definite mental health concerns. The findings do not establish cause and effect.

Fewer pupils feel able to be honest online

Only 25% of young people agreed they could be honest about their feelings on social media, down from 48% in 2019. Meanwhile, 47% considered their social media profile an accurate reflection of themselves, compared with 63% in 2019.

Girls were more than twice as likely as boys to compare themselves with others online, at 47% against 19%. However, the figure for girls had fallen from 57% in 2022.

The proportion saying likes, comments or shares affected their mood also fell, from 16% in 2022 to 13%.

Social media findings require careful interpretation

Almost all respondents, 97%, used at least one social media site. Among users, 88% used it daily or on most days. The survey includes messaging services such as WhatsApp and Discord within its definition.

On a typical school day, 65% of girls and 54% of boys used social media for two hours or more. Among pupils with low wellbeing, 48% used it for at least three hours on school days, compared with 21% of those with high wellbeing.

The survey cannot establish whether heavier social media use contributes to poorer wellbeing, whether young people experiencing difficulties spend longer online, or whether other factors influence both.

Understanding what the findings measure

NISRA’s Central Survey Unit carried out fieldwork between September 2025 and February 2026. While 8,875 pupils completed the wider survey, topics were divided between three questionnaires, with 3,034 completing the version containing these modules.

Results were weighted by year group, sex and religion to reflect Northern Ireland’s post-primary population. The report states that reported differences were statistically significant at the 95% confidence level, although findings remain subject to sampling error.

The bulletin provides Northern Ireland-wide findings rather than separate figures for Ballymena or individual council areas. It also cautions: “To note, the findings presented here are not based on clinical assessment.”

The publication is available at https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/articles/young-persons-behaviour-attitudes-survey

Understanding barriers to asking for help

The findings identify managing alone as the most common reason for not seeking help, but do not establish whether pupils who did not ask for help needed clinical treatment or encountered barriers to services.

For families, schools and services, an important question remains: what would make young people who are worried about their mental health feel able to ask for support?