Modern crisis of youth mental health – the perspective of Poland

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As young people are a vulnerable group, the prevalence of mental disorders in the population has been rapidly increasing in recent years. Not only are young people more at risk from mental disorders, but their lifelong burden accumulates for an extended period. Currently, the scale of the problem is enormous. Thus, various organisations and interest groups sound the alarm about the ongoing mental health crisis. This study aims to investigate the scale of youth mental health crisis in the context of socioeconomic development. The focus is on the burden on society, the economy, and progress as the underlying problems. The assessment is performed by literature studies and exploratory data analysis that allow for highlighting the ongoing tendencies and new phenomena concerning risk factors and mental disorders of young people, both globally and focusing on the Polish perspective, as well as evaluating the availability of mental healthcare in Poland, Europe, and the world. The results indicate that mental health and well-being have not been considered healthcare priorities for a long time. In particular, three issues deserve special attention in the youth mental health crisis context. Firstly, addictions, especially Internet- and smartphone-related behavioural dependences, are becoming a global pandemic among young people. Secondly, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic proved to be catastrophic for the mental health of children and adolescents. Finally, the available mental healthcare and its quality are inadequate to meet the growing needs of young people in the modern world.