How much do friends influence teens’ mental health? What a new study can (and can’t) tell us

By Scarlett Smout, Research Fellow, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney
Louise Birrell, Researcher, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney
Tim Slade, Professor, The Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney

During adolescence, young people become especially sensitive to peer influence – more so than any other time in life.

So, how does this affect their mental health?

A new study from Finland, released today, analysed data from more than 600,000 young people born between 1985 and 2000 (meaning both millennials and early Gen Zs).

It found that people whose peers had been diagnosed with a mental health condition…

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