Dutch teens less lonely, have stronger relationships than peers in other countries

Teenagers in the Netherlands are less lonely and more easily talk to their parents when something is bothering them than their peers in other countries, according to a large study into the mental health and social relationships of teens in 44 countries. The study noted that the mental health of teens, especially girls, deteriorated in almost all participating countries.

Every four years, researchers in participating countries in Europe, Central Asia, and Canada survey kids aged 11, 13, and 15 about their mental health and social relationships for the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study. These figures from approximately 280,000 teens come from 2021 and 2022. The Dutch part of the study was carried out by the Netherlands Institute for Social Research (SCP), Utrecht University, and the Trimbos Institute.

Dutch teenagers scored very well on their social relationships. 91 percent of Dutch boys and 87 percent of girls called it easy to talk to their fathers if something was bothering them, compared to 86 and 79 percent internationally. 87 percent of Dutch boys and 75 percent of girls said the same about their dads, compared to 78 and 63 percent internationally.

Teens in the Netherlands also scored well in terms of loneliness, with few reporting feeling lonely. The Netherlands is in the top five countries with the lowest loneliness scores.

The researchers noted striking differences between boys' and girls’ mental health, both nationally and internationally. In the Netherlands, 15 percent of girls said that they often or always feel lonely, compared to 7 percent of boys, for example. Internationally, it was 21 percent of girls and 10 percent of boys.

Exactly half of Dutch girls said that they suffered from two or more psychosomatic complaints more than once a week, compared to 28 percent of boys. This concerns physical and mental complaints, like headaches, trouble sleeping, or feeling anxious. Internationally, 56 percent of girls and 34 percent of boys had two or more complaints more than once a week.

The researchers also noted that problematic social media use has increased since 2017. In the Netherlands, the proportion of kids struggling with this is twice as low as internationally. Dutch teens’ smoking and alcohol use is on par with the international average, and cannabis use is a bit above average.

The figures provide a positive picture of Dutch teenagers, with social relationships and the low level of problematic social media use being particularly notable, the SCP said. But it added: “It is striking and worrying that girls’ position has deteriorated across the entire line compared to previous years and compared to boys. So despite the fact that Dutch youth score relatively favorably compared to peers from other countries, it remains important in our country to pay attention to the well-being of girls in particular.”