Mental Health of Children and Young People in Great Britain

Aims
The Surveys of the Mental Health of Children and Young People (MHCYP) are a series of national surveys of the mental health of children and young people. Each survey involves interviewing a large stratified probability sample of children and young people, and their parents and teachers. The primary aim of the surveys is to collect robust data on a range of topics relating to the mental health of children and young people to improve understanding of the state of children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing and inform the design of mental health services.

Institution
NHS Digital & NatCen Social Research

Geographic coverage - Nations
England (all surveys), Scotland (1999, 2004), Wales (1999)

Geographic coverage - Regions
Nationwide

Start date
1999

Catalogue record last updated
10/04/2024

Sample type
Repeated cross-sectional study

Sample details
Each survey involved interviewing a large stratified probability sample of children and young people, and their parents and teachers. In the 2017 survey, children and young people were eligible if they were aged 2 to 19, they lived in England, and were registered with a GP.

For the 2017 survey a stratified multistage random probability sample of children was drawn from NHS Patient Register in October 2016. Previous surveys made use of the Child Benefit Register (CBR), however due to changes made to child benefit eligibility the CBR is no longer a representative sampling frame. The use of the NHS Patient Register in 2017 meant children in care were also included in the sample frame in the 2017 survey, something that was not possible with the CBR.

Sample size at recruitment
7,977 (MHCYP 2004)

Sample size at most recent sweep
9,117 (2017 - MHCYP)

Sex
All

Age at recruitment
2-19 years (most recent survey)

Cohort year of birth
Varied