{"id":945190,"date":"2026-05-08T03:21:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T03:21:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/945190\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T03:21:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T03:21:13","slug":"imh-launches-third-nationwide-survey-to-assess-national-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/945190\/","title":{"rendered":"IMH launches third nationwide survey to assess national mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"

SINGAPORE \u2013 The Institute of Mental Health (IMH) has launched its third nationwide survey to capture the state of mental health of the nation, a decade after the last study revealed a sobering rise in mental health conditions.<\/p>\n

The three-year Singapore Mental Health Study (SMHS) will offer the first full-scale assessment since the <\/a>Covid-19 pandemic<\/a>.<\/a> For the first time, it will include younger teenagers and eating disorders, which have emerged as a concern among youth. <\/p>\n

Its scope will also expand to encompass the protective factors of positive mental health.<\/p>\n

The SMHS, being the sole nationwide study here to use internationally validated measures to assess the prevalence of mental health conditions, will provide the robust population-level data needed to guide mental health policy, said Associate Professor Mythily Subramaniam, the study\u2019s principal investigator.<\/p>\n

IMH\u2019s 2016 study showed how the mental landscape of Singapore shifted since a survey in 2010. It found that one in seven people aged 18 and above had experienced a mental disorder in their lifetime, up from one in eight in 2010.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prof Mythily said the upcoming study will offer insights into the pandemic\u2019s longer-term impact on mental health,<\/a> including the groups that may still be struggling.<\/p>\n

Crucially, it will assess younger teenagers aged 15-17. <\/p>\n

\u201cAdolescence is when many mental health conditions first emerge, and by capturing data from this age range, we have a critical window for early identification and intervention,\u201d said Prof Mythily, who is assistant chairman of the Medical Board (Research) at IMH.<\/p>\n

IMH\u2019s National Youth Mental Health Study of general psychological distress in\u00a0September 2024 showed that about one in three young people had reported experiencing severe or extremely severe symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The SMHS will measure how many meet the criteria for specific mental health disorders like Major Depressive Disorder, General Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, and eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and binge-eating disorder.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The last addition was prompted by findings from the IMH study, which showed that body image concerns, alongside excessive social media use and cyberbullying, play a major role in the mental health crisis afflicting Singaporean youths.<\/p>\n

Beyond tracking disorders, the latest SMHS will pivot towards positive mental health, since mental health exists on a spectrum.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we only focus on illness, we\u2019re reacting too late. By looking at positive mental health and protective factors, we can go further upstream, strengthen what keeps people well, and put in place programmes to address issues early,\u201d said Prof Mythily.<\/p>\n

By evaluating how resilient people are, alongside other factors such as\u00a0a sense of belonging, social support, quality of life and attitudes towards help-seeking, the study aims to uncover the protective factors that keep people well, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf one gets a mental disorder, but continues to have high self-esteem, they continue to have positive mental health,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Prof Mythily said they want to investigate whether positive mental health, such as self-esteem, can be a buffer against the onset of mental disorders.\u00a0<\/p>\n

For instance, can such factors prevent a person from developing a mental health disorder even after experiencing severe adversity, she asked.<\/p>\n

Data collection is slated to begin in May 2026 and will continue through August 2027, with results expected to be released by early 2029.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Approximately 6,000 residents aged 15 years and older, randomly selected from a national database, will be invited to participate in this study through face-to-face and online surveys. There is no upper age limit.<\/p>\n

Selected participants will also be re-contacted after six months to understand help-seeking behaviour and overall well-being over time.<\/p>\n

SMHS is led by IMH, in collaboration with KK Women\u2019s and Children\u2019s Hospital (KKH), and funded by the Ministry of Health.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SINGAPORE \u2013 The Institute of Mental Health (IMH) has launched its third nationwide survey to capture the state…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":945191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4317],"tags":[105,218,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-945190","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-mental-health","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116536809665219098","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=945190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/945190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/945191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=945190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=945190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=945190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}