The figure is particularly alarming: in 2024, the proportion of young people who have already had suicidal thoughts will reach 23%, or almost one in four young people, reveals an Ifop survey, published this Thursday, November 21. For the more specific segment of young adults (18-24 years old) it is 13%, compared to 3.3% according to a study by Public Health France in 2014. Commissioned by the mental health coaching company for young people “IAMSTRONG “, this study by self-administered questionnaire was carried out from October 1 to 9, 2024 with a sample of 1,303 young people, representative of the population living in mainland France.
These suicidal thoughts are often linked to depression. In fact, almost one in two young people aged 11 to 24 have experienced a depressive episode lasting at least two weeks, “thereby confirming the explosion of characterized depressive episodes observed among 18-24 year olds in 2021 by Public Health France”, underlines IAMSTRONG. As a result of the worsening of their psychological state, 16% of young people have already taken antidepressants during their life, and 7% during the last year.
Young women more affected
There is a significant gap between the mental health of young women and that of boys. 27% of girls surveyed said they had had suicidal thoughts, compared to 18% of boys. They are therefore more vulnerable, “marks of psychological distress often going hand in hand with a very negative view of oneself”, specifies the study. Young women are also more prone to anxiety, 68% suffer from it, compared to 51% of boys.
The level of stress is particularly “higher in the ranks of women, and particularly students”, points out the survey. In fact, three quarters of them say they are stressed, compared to six out of ten men of the same age. A discomfort which again is more concrete among young women, through “a desire to abandon everything (32% compared to 17% of men), a higher feeling of loneliness (55% compared to 45% of men) and a stronger disgust with the surrounding society (68% versus 49%).
Academic pressure and social media standards
Among the reasons given by young people, lack of physical self-esteem is very present (suicidal thoughts are three times more present among young people who do not consider themselves handsome).
Many students also admit to being afraid of “failure” – a feeling experienced by 62% of students, including 93% of those who have recently had suicidal thoughts. “Academic pressure and constant exposure to social networks, where comparison with often inaccessible standards is omnipresent, accentuate these insecurities,” judges Erika Seydoux, coach and co-founder of IAMSTRONG.
A generation yet less fatalistic
Disenchantment with the world, fueled by environmental and health crises and by wars, is more widespread among young people than among older adults today. However, it is not higher than that observed among their elders around fifty years ago: 57% of adolescents aged 14 to 15 say today that they are “disgusted by what they see around them”. them”, which is significantly less than 50 years ago (70% in 1973) in a post-sixty-eight context.
This resentment, which is still very present, “does not make it a fatalistic generation”, underlines the study. On the contrary, the temptation to give up and abandon everything will affect barely more than a quarter of young people aged 14 to 15 in 2024, compared to more than a third around fifty years ago.
Despite this encouraging figure, psychologist Anne Claire Pracomtal, co-founder of IAMSTRONG, is sounding the alarm. “These alarming figures reflect deep suffering among young people, exacerbated by the pressure of social networks and isolation. It is urgent to strengthen mental health support from a very young age to develop tools for resilience and management of emotions.”