A joint issue in the Nordic countries is mental ill-health. Several studies show that mental ill-health is particularly increasing among youth and young adults, and that there are gender differences in mental ill-health in all age groups. Limiting masculinity norms affect the mental health of boys negatively. Boys’ and young men’s mental ill-health can also be linked to changed conditions in the world of work, declining school results and a low rate of transition to higher education. The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated this negative mental health development, which maked it particularly important to raise the issue.
The Norwegiean Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers in 2022 took therefore the initiative for a project that would increase knowledge about young men’s mental ill-health by looking more closely at what causes the problems and what consequences they have in a life long perspective.
NIKK was commissioned to produce a Nordic research overview, that documented and analysed the existing knowledge in the Nordic region and enabled exchange of knowledge between the countries as well as between different fields of knowledge.
Read the full report here.
Project timespan
2022-2023
Commissioned by
Nordic Council of Ministers
Contact
Elin Engström
Project budget
600 000 DKK
Dissemination activity
Preliminary results from the project were presented at the Nordic Welfare Centre’s webinar, Nordic voices on wellbeing.
Young men’s mental ill-health in the Nordics
