Child and Youth Mental Health Study

Background

There is currently a lack of data on the prevalence of mental health and substance use conditions among children and young people. Clinicians, advocacy groups, and the Auditor General’s report Meeting the mental health needs of young New Zealanders have all highlighted the need for improved data about the mental health of young New Zealanders to inform funding, policy decisions, and service delivery.

In September 2024, the Government announced funding for a Child and Youth Mental Health Study to address this information gap. The information from this study will support more effective decisions and planning, including a needs-based allocation of resources, and prevention, treatment, and care options for children and young people.

Objectives

The objectives of the study are to understand for children and young people aged 5 to 24 years:

• the prevalence of mental health and substance use conditions and harms
• what services and supports are being used for their mental health and substance use conditions and harms, as well as barriers and unmet need for services
• the contextual and protective factors that are associated with mental health and substance use conditions and harms.

There will also be a particular focus on population groups where mental health and substance-related challenges are greatest. This includes children and young people who are disabled, living in areas of high deprivation, Māori, Pacific, Asian, and rainbow youth.

Design and implementation

The study design and questionnaire are continuing to be refined, but some decisions have been made.

• Around 6,000 households across New Zealand will participate in the study.
• Addresses will be randomly selected to ensure a representative and diverse sample.
• The study will collect data about children and young people aged 5–24 years through face-to-face interviews.

Who is involved?

• The Ministry of Health is funding the study and providing overall programme oversight, and will publish the study results.
• Ipsos, an international research agency with offices in New Zealand and which specialises in large-scale national surveys, is responsible for delivering the study, including designing the study and collecting the data.
• The University of Auckland will provide advice to Ipsos on the study design.
• Youthline will provide participant support and referral services to participants where needed. 

Advisory Groups

Advisory groups have also been established to provide advice and recommendations throughout each phase of the study. They will help ensure it provides the right information and is safe and valuable for those participating.

The study’s Expert Advisory Group provides technical and expert advice and is comprised of people with expertise in child and youth mental health, addictions, lived experience, survey design, workforce development, as well as disability, Māori, Pacific, Asian, and rainbow health.

The work is also supported by a Youth Advisory Group. As described by the members, ‘the Youth Advisory Group exists to ensure rangatahi voice is heard not only in the results of the study, but its design and implementation. Members of the YAG bring their lived experience and expertise, providing the youth-perspective that isn’t otherwise present. We work to ensure the study is accessible-to and workable-for young people in Aotearoa to get the most accurate reflection of child and youth mental health.’

Estimated timeframes

The following activities are planned for each year:

• 2025: Design the study methods and questionnaire
• 2026: Testing and data collection begins
• 2028: Data collection ends and Ministry publishes results in early 2028. 

This webpage will continue to be updated as work on the study progresses.