Experts have called for greater awareness of the emotional distress faced by many young people after a new study found more than four in ten young people have felt their lives are not worth living.

The My World survey saw 8,000 individuals aged between 17 and 25 asked a series of questions addressing mental health by researchers from Headstrong and the University College Dublin's (UCD's) School of Psychology, the Irish Times reports.

As many as 43 per cent of respondents said they had thought their life was not worth living at some point, with the majority claiming they had felt that way in the past year.

UCD psychology lecturer and Headstrong's director of research Barbara Dooley commented: "Despite this being a young sample ... the data found that nearly 1,000 young people (14 per cent) fell into the category of either severe or very severe depression."

The research also highlighted a link between negative feelings and self-harm, with 47 per cent of those with severe depression having intentionally caused an injury to themselves.

Written by Donal Walsh

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