This page presents the results of the Implementation of Interpersonal Counselling for Adolescents (IPC-A) in Finland study. The results are based on data collected between 26 March 2024 and 1 April 2025. Data collection from lower secondary school–aged adolescents has now ended.
You can review the information at the national level and by wellbeing services county.
Participants in the study
Adolescents’ mental health resources and risk factors
Prevalence of mental health symptoms among adolescents
Adolescents’ experiences of access to support and help
Participants in the study
The total sample comprises 3,358 adolescents (response to the first survey and consent obtained from both the adolescent and their parent/guardian; the adolescent has not reported previous treatment for depression and has not received specialised psychiatric care).
Participants in the follow-up study respond to a brief mood questionnaire every two weeks for a period of six months, and to more extensive questionnaires at six and twelve months after participation. For the entire sample, the required consents for the follow-up surveys have been obtained from 984 adolescents (29.3% of all study participants). For the others, follow-up is carried out based on register data.
The table below presents the number of participants in each wellbeing services county.
Adolescents who completed the survey during the school day were eligible for inclusion in the study. The young person’s wellbeing did not affect their opportunity to participate. If, based on their responses, an adolescent had received treatment for depression within the previous 12 months or had received specialised psychiatric care, they were not included in the study, as the aim was to determine how many adolescents receive treatment for depression within one year. A total of 442 adolescents were excluded due to prior treatment, and the final proportion of participants was 25.9% of all those who responded to the survey.
| Wellbeing services county | Municipalities | Participants in the study, n (% of those who responded to the baseline survey; those who had received treatment for depression or specialised psychiatric care during the previous 12 months were excluded) | Participants in the follow-up surveys, n (% of study participants) |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Ostrobothnia | Kauhava | 138 (30,4) | 21 (15,2) |
| South Savo | Savonlinna | 147 (24,6) | 35 (23,8) |
| Kainuu | Kajaani | 222 (30,2) | 40 (18,0) |
| Kanta-Häme | Forssa, Hattula, Hämeenlinna, Riihimäki | 613 (21,9) | 198 (32,3) |
| Central Ostrobothnia | Kokkola | 217 (27,6) | 48 (22,1) |
| Central Finland | Laukaa, Jämsä, Jyväskylä | 763 (29,5) | 264 (34,6) |
| Lapland | Enontekiö, Rovaniemi, Sodankylä, Utsjoki | 212 (36,1) | 66 (31,1) |
| North Karelia | Joensuu, Ilomantsi | 317 (29,1) | 66 (20,8) |
| North Ostrobothnia | Kuusamo, Liminka, Oulu | 318 (23,9) | 116 (36,5) |
| North Savo | Iisalmi, Kuopio, Siilinjärvi | 336 (20,9) | 104 (31,0) |
| Southwest Finland | Uusikaupunki | 75 (19,8) | 26 (34,7) |
| Entire sample | 3358 (25,9) | 984 (29,3) |
Adolescents’ mental health resources and risk factors
Summary: The majority of adolescents perceive their resources as good. One in ten adolescents reports a very weak sense of belonging, and one in six feels lonely. There are particularly large regional differences in adolescents’ sense of belonging.
The total sample comprises 3,358 adolescents.
| Wellbeing services county | Positive mental health (scale 7–35), median | Sense of belonging (scale 0–100), median | Very weak sense of belonging, % (n) | Satisfaction with life situation (scale 0–10), median | Feels lonely, % (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Ostrobothnia | 24,1 | 82,5 | 6,5 (9) | 8,7 | 13,0 (18) |
| South Savo | 24,1 | 82,5 | 7,5 (11) | 8,6 | 11,6 (17) |
| Kainuu | 23,2 | 75,0 | 13,1 (29) | 8,5 | 16,7 (37) |
| Kanta-Häme | 22,4 | 75,0 | 11,1 (68) | 8,1 | 15,9 (97) |
| Central Ostrobothnia | 23,2 | 77,5 | 9,7 (21) | 8,5 | 13,4 (29) |
| Central Finland | 22,4 | 77,5 | 9,2 (70) | 8,2 | 14,4 (110) |
| Lapland | 23,2 | 77,5 | 9,9 (21) | 8,2 | 20,9 (44) |
| North Karelia | 23,2 | 77,5 | 9,2 (29) | 8,2 | 13,0 (41) |
| North Ostrobothnia | 23,2 | 75,0 | 10,7 (34) | 8,1 | 18,0 (57) |
| North Savo | 22,4 | 77,5 | 10,4 (35) | 8,2 | 18,2 (61) |
| Southwest Finland | 21,5 | 71,3 | 14,7 (11) | 7,4 | 18,7 (14) |
| Entire sample | 23 ,2 | 77,5 | 10,1 (338) | 8 ,2 | 15,7 (525) |
Positive mental health: Positive mental health was measured using the SWEMWBS scale (Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Wellbeing Scale © NHS Health Scotland, University of Warwick and University of Edinburgh, 2008, all rights reserved) (warwick.ac.uk).
Sense of belonging: Adolescents’ sense of belonging was measured using the social inclusion indicator developed by THL (English: Experiences of Social Inclusion Scale, ESIS) (thl.fi).
Very weak sense of belonging, % (of respondents in the respective wellbeing services county): This indicator shows the percentage of adolescents who reported a very weak sense of belonging (social inclusion indicator score below 50 points). Sense of belonging was measured using the social inclusion indicator (English: Experiences of Social Inclusion Scale, ESIS) (thl.fi).
Satisfaction with life situation: Adolescents’ satisfaction with their life situation was measured using the 3X10D® Life Situation Measure developed by Diaconia University of Applied Sciences (Diak) (diak.fi).
Loneliness, % (of respondents in the respective wellbeing services county): This indicator shows the percentage of adolescents who report feeling lonely fairly often or continuously among those who responded to the question in the respective wellbeing services county. The indicator is based on the question: Do you feel lonely? Response options: 1) never, 2) very rarely, 3) sometimes, 4) fairly often, 5) continuously. The analysis includes respondents who selected option 4 or 5.
Prevalence of mental health symptoms among adolescents
Summary: A substantial proportion of adolescents report symptoms of depression and anxiety: one in four reports depressive symptoms and one in five reports anxiety symptoms. One in six reports problematic substance use. In this study, the proportion of adolescents reporting depressive symptoms varies considerably between wellbeing services counties, with the highest proportion being up to twice as high as the lowest.
The total sample comprises 3,358 adolescents.
| Wellbeing services county | Municipalities | Depressive symptoms, % (n) | Anxiety symptoms, % (n) | Problematic substance use, % (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Ostrobothnia | Kauhava | 15,9 (22) | 10,9 (15) | 11,6 (16) |
| South Savo | Savonlinna | 20,4 (30) | 15,7 (23) | 11,6 (17) |
| Kainuu | Kajaani | 22,6 (50) | 12,7 (28) | 10,4 (23) |
| Kanta-Häme | Forssa, Hattula, Hämeenlinna, Riihimäki | 29,7 (182) | 21,8 (133) | 17,2 (105) |
| Central Ostrobothnia | Kokkola | 20,6 (45) | 14,2 (31) | 6,0 (13) |
| Central Finland | Laukaa, Jämsä, Jyväskylä | 23,6 (180) | 17,4 (133) | 11,3 (86) |
| Lapland | Enontekiö, Rovaniemi, Sodankylä, Utsjoki | 28,8 (61) | 18,9 (40) | 17,0 (36) |
| North Karelia | Joensuu, Ilomantsi | 24,0 (76) | 14,8 (47) | 10,4 (33) |
| North Ostrobothnia | Kuusamo, Liminka, Oulu | 24,5 (78) | 18,7 (59) | 12,6 (40) |
| North Savo | Iisalmi, Kuopio, Siilinjärvi | 26,8 (90) | 18,0 (60) | 11,9 (40) |
| Southwest Finland | Uusikaupunki | 38,7 (29) | 31,1 (23) | 17,3 (13) |
| Entire sample | 25,1 (843) | 17,7 (592) | 12,6 (422) |
Depressive symptoms: PHQ-9-A score ≥ 10 (Julkari.fi), % of respondents in the respective wellbeing services county.
Anxiety symptoms: GAD-7 score ≥ 10 (Sotkanet.fi), % of respondents in the respective wellbeing services county.
Problematic substance use: The criteria for problematic substance use were: 1) alcohol use at least weekly, or 2) alcohol use to the point of heavy intoxication at least monthly, or 3) lifetime use of illicit drugs once or more; % of respondents in the respective wellbeing services county (Julkari.fi).
Adolescents’ experiences of access to support and help
Summary: Half of adolescents feel that there is an adult at school with whom they can discuss matters that are weighing on their mind. Half of adolescents with depressive symptoms have not told anyone about their symptoms.
In this study, we have followed adolescents who had not received help for depression or specialised psychiatric care during the year preceding the study. In the future, we will also examine how many adolescents receive help for depression for the first time.
The total sample comprises 3,358 adolescents.
| Wellbeing services county | Municipalities | Based on the adolescent’s response, there is an adult at school with whom they can talk if something is weighing on their mind*, % (n) | Based on the adolescent’s response, they have depressive symptoms but have not told anyone about them**, % (n) |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Ostrobothnia | Kauhava | 63,8 (88) | 22,7 (5) |
| South Savo | Savonlinna | 66,4 (97) | 53,3 (16) |
| Kainuu | Kajaani | 58,6 (130) | 60,0 (30) |
| Kanta-Häme | Forssa, Hattula, Hämeenlinna, Riihimäki | 51,8 (316) | 53,3 (97) |
| Central Ostrobothnia | Kokkola | 47,5 (103) | 55,6 (25) |
| Central Finland | Laukaa, Jämsä, Jyväskylä | 51,3 (391) | 57,8 (104) |
| Lapland | Enontekiö, Rovaniemi, Sodankylä, Utsjoki | 45,8 (97) | 55,7 (34) |
| North Karelia | Joensuu, Ilomantsi | 50,8 (161) | 46,1 (35) |
| North Ostrobothnia | Kuusamo, Liminka, Oulu | 49,2 (156) | 42,3 (33) |
| North Savo | Iisalmi, Kuopio, Siilinjärvi | 36,7 (123) | 43,3 (39) |
| Southwest Finland | Uusikaupunki | 38,7 (29) | 55,2 (16) |
| Entire sample | 50,5 (1691) | 51,5 (434) |
*Opportunity to talk with an adult at school about matters that are weighing on one’s mind, % of respondents in the respective wellbeing services county: This indicator provides information on the proportion (%) of adolescents who have an adult at school with whom they can, if needed, discuss matters that are weighing on their mind. The indicator is based on the question: “Is there an adult at your school with whom you can talk if something is weighing on your mind?” Response options: 1) no, 2) yes, 3) I don’t know. The analysis includes respondents who selected option 2.
** Has depressive symptoms but has not told anyone, % of adolescents with depressive symptoms in the respective wellbeing services county: This indicator provides information on the proportion (%) of adolescents who have depressive symptoms (PHQ-9-A score ≥ 10) and have not told anyone about them. The indicator is based on the question: “During the past two weeks, have you been concerned about your mood?” Response options: 1) no, 2) yes, I have told someone about it, 3) yes, but I have not told anyone about it. The analysis includes respondents who selected option 3.