Mental health and wellbeing outcomes for young disabled people - new data

In June 2024, the Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission (MHWC) released findings from analysis of a range of administrative and survey data sources that provide insight into health and wellbeing outcomes and access to services for young people (aged 15 to 24 years of age) and rangatahi Māori, including disabled young people.

The full report external URL can be found on the website of Te Hiringa Mahara—Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission.

We take a look at the data to see what it means for disabled young people. 

Young people fare worse on several health and wellbeing outcomes 

Compared to older people, young people generally reported poorer mental health and wellbeing outcomes including psychological distress, loneliness, discrimination, trust of others, feelings that the things they did in life were worthwhile, and access to services. Some of these measures also saw a decline over recent years.

For example, when compared with the general population aged 15 years and over, a greater proportion of young people:

• experienced high or very high levels of psychological distress (21 percent compared with 12 percent)
• did not receive professional help when they felt they needed it in the last 12 months (16 percent compared with 9 percent)

When compared with 2018, data from 2021 also showed, for example, that for young people aged 15-24 years:

• average mental wellbeing scores (using the WHO-5 Well-being Index) fell from 64 out of 100 to 60 out of 100
• loneliness increased, with the proportion of young people who felt lonely some, most or all of the time in the last four weeks increasing from 24 percent to 28 percent

Some groups of young people experienced consistent inequities across several wellbeing measures. These include disabled and LGBTQIA+ young people and rangatahi Māori.

Disabled young people experience poorer mental health and wellbeing

Using data from the General Social Survey (2021) the report showed that disabled young people had lower mental wellbeing scores than young people in general (mean ratings of 48 and 60 out of 100, respectively). In addition, when compared to non-disabled young people, disabled young people:

• experienced lower levels of trust in people (mean ratings of 5.2 and 6.4 out of 10, respectively)
• rated lower, on average, how worthwhile the things they do in life are (mean ratings of 6.3 and 7.9 out of 10, respectively)
• were more likely to have experienced discrimination in the last year (35 percent compared with 23 percent)
• were more than twice as likely to feel lonely some, most, or all of time in the last four weeks (52 percent compared with 25 percent)
• were less likely to live in households with enough or more than enough income to meet everyday needs (51 percent compared with 60 percent).

About the data

The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission report on rangatahi Māori and young people focused on indicators relating to outcome areas from the He Ara Oranga wellbeing outcomes framework and the He Ara Āwhina framework.

Outcomes in the frameworks include:

• Being safe and nurtured
• Having what is needed
• Having one’s rights and dignity fully realised
• Healing, growth, and being resilient
• Being connected and valued
• Having hope and purpose
• Whānau are culturally strong and proud
• Mauri and wairua of whānau are ever-increasing, intergenerationally
• Whānau have the resources needed to thrive across their lives and equitable wellbeing is the norm
• Access and options to supports and services.

Data used in the analysis was from several survey and administrative data sources including:

•  General Social Survey (GSS)
•  Te Kupenga, Household Economic Survey (HES)
•  New Zealand Health Survey (NZHS)
• Ministry of Education administrative data
• Programme for International Student Assessment data
• Programme for the Integration of Mental Health Data (PRIMHD)
• Whakarongorau National Telehealth Services
• Access + Choice programme data.

The report included data from 2018 to 2023, depending on source.

Disability status is defined using the Washington Group Short Set of questions. These questions identify people with functional limitations across six activity areas:

1. seeing (even with their glasses)
2. hearing (even with their hearing aid)
3. walking or climbing stairs
4. remembering or concentrating
5. self-care
6. communicating.

The questions have been tested internationally and were developed as a reliable and efficient way of disaggregating disability data in surveys and censuses to compare outcomes for disabled and non-disabled people.

Due to sample sizes, the report was not able to look at the intersection between population groups such as disabled, rainbow, Māori, Pacific.

However, research such as: 

• The Multidimensional Impacts of Inequities for Tāngata Whaikaha Māori (Indigenous Māori with Lived Experience of Disability) in Aotearoa, New Zealand external URL
• Negotiating Multiple Identities: Intersecting Identities among Māori, Pacific, Rainbow and Disabled Young People external URL

shows that intersectionality has a compounding negative effect on health and wellbeing outcomes.