Recent research suggests that youth mental health, particularly in developed Western countries, has been on the decline, with younger generations reporting lower levels of happiness compared to older individuals. However, new studies focusing on Asia and the Middle East have revealed an intriguing twist: the way surveys are conducted may play a significant role in these reported disparities. Specifically, web-based surveys show that young people report feeling less happy, whereas face-to-face or telephone interviews yield a more positive picture of their mental wellbeing. This article explores these findings and the potential implications for our understanding of global mental health trends.
The Growing Concern Over Youth Mental Health
In recent years, rising levels of mental illness among young people have become a global concern. This trend is particularly pronounced in Western countries, where a growing body of evidence highlights the negative impacts of social media and technology, especially smartphones, on young people’s mental health. Previous studies have proposed regulating smartphone use as a potential solution to curb this decline (Blanchflower and Bryson, 2024a).
Further studies have explored whether this decline is universal or if certain regions are less affected. Research has suggested that countries with limited internet access, such as parts of Africa, show no significant rise in mental health issues among youth, indirectly supporting the role of social media in the decline of young people’s wellbeing (Blanchflower and Bryson, 2024b).
Survey Mode Effects: A Hidden Factor
The latest research introduces an important factor in measuring mental health trends: survey mode effects. These effects occur when respondents’ answers to survey questions vary systematically depending on how the survey is administered. Traditionally, surveys were conducted face-to-face, with interviewers recording responses using a laptop. However, advances in technology have led to the rise of computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) and web-based surveys (CAWI), both of which are more cost-effective than face-to-face methods.
Researchers have found that the mode in which a survey is conducted can significantly influence the results. People who respond to surveys in person report better psychological functioning compared to those who respond via the web. Additionally, individuals who answer interviewer-administered questionnaires tend to provide more socially desirable responses than those who self-report online (Rickwood and Coleman-Rose, 2023). This bias, known as social desirability response bias, results in respondents downplaying socially undesirable behaviors or emotions and overreporting more socially acceptable ones.
New Findings: The Impact of Survey Mode on Youth Mental Health
In a recent study across 16 countries in Asia and the Middle East, researchers found clear evidence of how survey mode influences reported wellbeing among young people. When surveys were conducted online, young people consistently reported being less happy and more unhappy compared to older generations. However, when surveys were conducted by telephone or face-to-face, the results painted a different picture: young people reported higher levels of positive emotions and lower levels of negative emotions.
These findings suggest that survey mode may introduce biases into the reported wellbeing of young people, but the results are not definitive. One challenge in interpreting these results is that survey mode is not randomly assigned. Younger people are more likely to respond to web-based surveys, while older generations tend to favor phone or in-person methods. Additionally, non-response bias, where individuals from certain demographic groups are less likely to respond based on survey mode, may further distort the findings. Nevertheless, the study raises an important question: do young people’s mental health trends truly reflect reality, or are they influenced by the way questions are asked?
Implications for Understanding Mental Health Trends
While survey mode effects must be considered when analyzing youth mental health data, they do not discount the evidence of rising mental health issues in certain regions. For instance, Japan reported a surge in suicides among young people, particularly adolescent girls, in 2024 (Benozaapan, 2024). Additionally, anxiety, depression, self-harm, and psychiatric hospital admissions have all risen in Asian countries, particularly among young women since 2019 (Zhang et al., 2025). In countries like Australia and Japan, rising antidepressant prescriptions and increasing rates of self-harm and suicide further underline the growing mental health crisis.
These trends suggest that social desirability bias may be at play, particularly in Asia and the Middle East, where young people may underreport negative emotions or mental health issues when responding to surveys administered by interviewers. This bias could result in a skewed understanding of the true extent of youth mental health problems in these regions.
Conclusion
While the survey mode effect plays a critical role in shaping how we interpret youth mental health trends, it is clear that mental health challenges are a growing concern for young people in many parts of the world. The evidence from Asia and the Middle East highlights the importance of considering survey methods when drawing conclusions about the wellbeing of young people. However, it is equally important to address the underlying causes of mental health decline and work towards solutions that support the mental and emotional health of future generations.
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