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A group of young people with lived experience of mental health challenges helped to interpret these results and unpick some possible reasons for them

Two groups showed particularly high levels of psychological distress: (1) those identifying as transgender/gender-diverse & (2) those in Youthreach or Further Education and Training centres ("early school leavers")

Rates of most distress measures peaked during the COVID years (2020-21). The proportion of teens repetitively self-harming did not return to pre-COVID levels, unlike other measures of distress.

Identical twins who had experienced online bullying were about twice as likely to develop anxiety disorder than their co-twin (who had not experienced online bullying).

We found online bullying rarely occurs in isolation. 20% of this large UK cohort said they had been bullied online at some point in their teens, but almost all of these also reported at least one other type of in-person victimisation during this time.

These associations were found in both males and females, but all risk markers (heavy screen use, poor body image, & sexting) were more common among females.

➡️ Further research needed to know whether these factors causally influence mental health