Dutch teens talk about their problems with parents and friends more than their peers in other countries, a new survey into adolescent wellbeing has shown.

Mental health among teenagers aged 11 and 16 is worsening worldwide, particularly among girls, according to the latest edition of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) survey. Some 280,000 children from 44 countries participated in the research.

“There is good and bad news”, Gonneke Stevens, the Dutch head researcher and professor of adolescent health told the NRC.

The bad news is that mental health among teenagers has deteriorated significantly compared to the previous probe in 2017, Stevens said. Some 56% of girls have more psychosomatic complaints such as headaches and depression, a rise of 13%. Among boys, the figure has gone up from 29% to 34%. “We see the same thing across the board in Europe,” Stevens said.

Part of the rise is related to the pandemic, which is when the survey took place, but it is not the only problem teens are experiencing. Mention of schoolwork pressure has almost tripled in the 20 years the survey has been carried out.

The good news is that Dutch teenagers are not suffering in silence. Some 87% of boys and 75% of girls said they found it easy to talk to their parents about their problems.

Just 7% of boys and 15% of girls said they had felt lonely in the last 12 months compared to 10% and 21% of their peers in other countries.

Why Dutch children are enjoying better social relationships was not part of the investigation but has been a feature in the survey for 20 years, Stevens said.

“We think it is part of Dutch culture. We know from other research that trust in others is relatively high and relationships are not very hierarchical. That may well be the basis for good social relationships,” she said.

Good social relationships are vital for mental health, Stevens said. “Acceptance from others, parents, friends, teachers, determines wellbeing to a large degree.”

Another important difference with other teens around the world is the effect of social media. Its use is intensive, the survey shows. But symptoms of addiction, such as being completely engrossed by them or conflicts over their use, are only mentioned by 4.1% of boys and 6.7% of girls in the Netherlands, almost half of the international average.