Depression: A quarter of 15-29 year-olds say they are affected, according to a survey by the Montaigne Institute

The issue of mental health, elevated to a major national cause in 2025, has become a central topic of public debate. This is particularly true for young people, those whose childhood transition coincided with the health crisis. There are countless warnings from the medical world and public health surveys concerning this Covid-19 generation, also marked by a highly anxiety-inducing geopolitical and environmental context.

But what do young people themselves say about their moral and psychological state? How do they assess their symptoms, their suffering? Who do they talk to about it? What support do they expect? The survey made public on Wednesday, September 3, by the Montaigne Institute, the French Mutualité, and the Terram Institute (a think tank focused on local areas) aims to provide answers by highlighting the observations of those concerned: some 5,633 young people aged 15 to 29 were surveyed via an online questionnaire from April 14 to 30 (Ipsos panel).

Daily habits, feelings about studies or work, ability – or inability – to plan for oneself, desired or feared future…: 23 questions were submitted to them, supplemented by a standardized questionnaire often used to assess depressive episodes (the Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9), but left, here, to the respondents. A subjective assessment, therefore, but which reveals widespread mental suffering.

Because while nearly two-thirds (64%) of young people consider their mental health to be "fairly good" (42%) or "very good" (22%), the frequency and nature of the symptoms they mention, at the same time, strongly nuance the general picture: more than 8 out of 10 say, for example, that they have felt persistent fatigue or a lack of energy during the two weeks preceding the survey; nearly three-quarters, sleep disorders; more than 6 out of 10, a feeling of sadness, depression... "Thinking that it would be better to die or considering hurting oneself" is mentioned by 31% of respondents.

You have 69.31% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.