This rapid review presents evidence of clear gender differences in children and young people's emotional and mental health, in terms of:
1. the general picture of children and young people’s emotional and mental health
2. the prevalence of specific difficulties and issues among children and young people
3. children and young people’s coping strategies and help-seeking behaviours
4. responses to children and young people’s emotional and mental health needs from parents and carers, schools, and public services
5. service responses to the needs of some particular groups of children and young people.
This document aims to provide a snapshot of the most recent and salient evidence from published research and grey literature, as relevant to children and young people living in England in 2016. It addresses children and young people’s emotional and mental health difficulties as they manifest and are responded to, highlighting and exploring gender-related issues behind observed patterns across areas of mental health.
This is not a systematic review, and is not exhaustive. It is part of a small-scale project that aims to inform gender-responsive approaches to children and young people’s mental health by bringing evidence together with findings from engagement with young people and practice examples from services.
It is important to acknowledge that many of the issues covered in this review are contested and inextricably linked to the broader context in which differences in mental health, disability, sexual orientation and other factors intersect to impact on individuals throughout the life course in ways that affect their mental health: for example, socio-economically disadvantaged children and young people are up to three times more likely to have a mental health problem than their better-off peers (Reiss 2013). (From the introduction). Record #5188