Executive Summary
Research from the Infra4NextGen project finds that young Europeans report notably worse mental health than older generations, with clear disparities also linked to education, gender and social circumstances.
The data was collected via the CRONOS-3 panel survey across 11 European countries, comparing younger and older adults on mental health status, healthcare access, and the wider factors that shape wellbeing. The Topline Results report focuses on subjective mental health, access to mental health services, loneliness and social support, internet use for mental health information, and therapeutic drug use.
The data found that younger adults and those with lower levels of education were considerably more likely to report poor mental health than older adults and the more highly educated. In addition, younger people reported markedly higher levels of loneliness than older people, and loneliness was strongly linked to poorer mental health across both age groups.
There was also a clear generational gap in access to care, with younger adults reporting substantially higher levels of unmet mental healthcare needs than older adults, driven mainly by cost and waiting times, while women also reported somewhat higher unmet need than men.
Furthermore, strong personal relationships and social support were consistently associated with better mental health, reinforcing the report’s emphasis on the protective role of friendships and family ties. The data also found some age-related differences in coping behaviors, with older adults more likely to use therapeutic drugs for sleep or pain relief, while younger adults with poor mental health were more likely to use drugs to stay awake and focused.
Younger respondents are also more likely search online for mental health information — leading the authors to call for expanded youth mental health services, safer digital environments, and stronger community-based social support.
