Nordic Survey
Strengthening Youth Mental Health Across the Nordics
Mental Health Among Emerging Adults
Impact Highlights
70% of young adults have experienced mental health issues.
1 in 2 avoid seeking help, often due to stigma.
Among those who do reach out, 65% feel the support they receive is inadequate or that they are not taken seriously.
Background
Reach for Change, The Inner Foundation, and the Tim Bergling Foundation initiated the Next in Mind initiative with the ambition of strengthening emerging adults mental health across the Nordic countries. To design relevant and effective systems, a deeper understanding of emerging adults’ experiences, needs, and barriers related to mental health was required. Therefore a collaboration with Perspetivo was established.
A quantitative, representative study was conducted among young adults aged 18–29 in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland. The data collection ensured representative data for each country and aimed to map the current state of mental health, perceived needs for support, and experiences of attitudes and access to support services.
Result
The study provided a comprehensive foundation that highlighted the prevalence of mental health challenges among young adults in the Nordic countries, as well as the structural and attitudinal barriers affecting help-seeking behavior and access to support. The results showed that mental health challenges are widespread, that many young adults refrain from seeking help, and that among those who do seek support, the perceived quality of support is often low.
"To enable change, the right factual basis is needed. When we began working on Next in Mind, we knew we needed a partner who could deliver not just data - but perspective. Perspetivo was able to do what no one else could: gather quantitative insights that truly reflect what it means to be a young adult in the Nordics today. Their methodology provided us with a factual basis strong enough to build both trust and systemic change upon."
Annika Sten Pärson, Co-founder & Partner
Impact
Through these insights, Reach for Change and its partners gained a deeper understanding of young adults’ realities across different Nordic contexts. The representative data set has been used to identify key areas for development and to inform concrete, needs-based initiatives within the Next in Mind framework.
