Enhancing adolescent social and emotional well‑being

4. Supporting adolescent social and emotional well-being at home, in schools, in communities and online

In response to growing concerns about youth mental health and well-being – concerns that have intensified in the wake of the COVID‑19 pandemic – many countries have expanded actions to promote youth mental health and emotional well-being, adopting a wide range of approaches (IPPO, 2023[107]; OECD, 2025[4]). Policy responses can emerge from multiple ministries. Policy strategies are often anchored in health policy and led by ministries of health, but they may also be embedded in broader plans to promote youth well-being led by ministries of social affairs (Dirwan and Thévenon, 2023[108]), or implemented through initiatives supported and delivered within education systems under the responsibility of ministries of education (OECD, 2024[109]). An additional priority is ensuring that policies align with adolescents’ own concerns and effectively support their social and emotional well-being. This has led to a growing emphasis on recognising children as rights-holders and involving them as active participants in decision making processes that affect their lives (OECD, 2024[109]).

For younger adolescents, initiatives to support children and adolescents’ well-being and mental health include school-based interventions, community-based initiatives, the development of digital and telehealth resources, awareness-raising and anti-stigma campaigns, as well as rebates or subsidies for mental health treatment (OECD, 2025[110]). Evidence from impact reviews suggest well-implemented universal school-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programmes can help prevent anxiety and reduce bullying, while more intensive and targeted interventions (for example, depression prevention) can be provided to those with greater needs within a co‑ordinated, tiered system of support (Kuosmanen, Clarke and Barry, 2019[111]).

Although the number of rigorously evaluated SEL programmes remains limited, available evidence indicates that both activity-based interventions – where participants actively engage in structured tasks – and education-based (psychoeducational) programmes – focussed on building knowledge about emotions, mental health, and coping skills – can improve adolescents’ social and emotional well-being (Lam and Lam, 2023[112]). In addition, a range of promising practices aim to improve access to care, including free consultations with mental health professionals, youth walk-in centres, and online support tools, helping to address issues early before they escalate. At the same time, a growing number of policies seek to address children and adolescent’s online behaviours – either by promoting safer digital environments by design or through precautionary measures such as social media restrictions or smartphone bans in schools. However, robust evidence on their effects on mental health remains limited. (OECD, 2026[3]).

The scientific literature points to multiple, intersecting risk factors for poor youth mental health, as also highlighted in a recent survey of policy and clinical experts (OECD, 2026[3]). Some of these risk factors are relatively new and societal in nature – such as digitalisation and climate anxiety – meaning that addressing them extends beyond individual responsibility or the scope of service‑based support alone. Other factors, including global conflict and political instability, have long posed mental health risks but may now be experienced more directly and widely by young people due to increased exposure to information. By contrast, several long-standing risk factors are more directly amenable to intervention through adequate social, educational, family and mental health support, including economic insecurity and poverty; school environments and academic pressure; bullying and cyberbullying; information overload; and feelings of hopelessness and fear about the future.

Addressing these risks requires a comprehensive, multi-sectoral response. Experts interviewed by the OECD (2026[3]) consistently emphasised that mental health services alone are insufficient, and that a broader approach involving education systems, families, digital policy, and community-based support is essential. Frequently cited priorities included improving early childhood education and school environments, expanding access to mental health support (including peer support), and strengthening psychosocial education and mental health literacy. Experts also underscored the importance of supportive family environments and parenting skills, healthy lifestyle behaviours (such as adequate sleep, physical activity, and nutrition), strong social connections, and the management of online behaviours through digital literacy and balanced screen use. Overall, the findings point to the need for a holistic, multi-sectoral strategy to build youth resilience, with specialist mental health services playing an important but necessarily limited role.

Within this broad focus on young people under the age of 25, the specific needs of younger children and adolescents warrant particular attention. Childhood is a distinct developmental period in which well-being, learning, and physical, emotional and social development require sustained care and support. Adolescence, in particular, is marked by profound transitions. Alongside the physical changes associated with puberty, young people experience a growing need for autonomy and gradual emancipation from the family environment. In this process, they explore and construct their personal identities, shaping how they perceive themselves, their relationships with others – both girls and boys – and their sense of “living well,” a core dimension of subjective well-being during development (OECD, 2026[8]).

As adolescents’ worlds expand, friendships and peer influence play an increasingly central role, as do the norms, ideals, and stereotypes conveyed across the different environments they navigate daily: within families, at school, among peers, and in digital spaces. Managing these changes can be challenging. As seen in section 2, a substantial minority of adolescents report feeling unwell during this period, with difficulties manifesting in diverse ways, including lower life satisfaction, anxiety, heightened stress, negative self-perceptions or body image, aggressive behaviour, and, in more severe cases, self-harm or suicidal behaviours. Importantly, both the form and intensity of these experiences often differ between girls and boys.

Addressing these challenges requires support that goes beyond parental care or the intervention of a single specialist once difficulties are identified or diagnosed. Effective support must be cross-cutting, embedded across the multiple environments adolescents inhabit, and equipped to detect early signs of distress before problems intensify. Early identification and prevention are essential to help young people navigate this developmental stage and thrive under supportive conditions.

Recognising emerging difficulties is particularly challenging because distress can manifest differently among boys and girls and may remain unnoticed or be normalised due to prevailing social norms. This underscores the need for greater awareness across adolescents’ everyday environments, and supports that are responsive to boys’ and girls’ specific patterns of vulnerability.

While the causes of adolescent distress are multifaceted and cannot be reduced solely to challenges related to norms of femininity and masculinity and identity formation, navigating these norms represents a significant pressure. These pressures may be particularly acute today given the growing tensions, contradictions and uncertainties surrounding societal expectations of boys and girls, as discussed in the previous section.

Overall, adolescents require co‑ordinated and sustained support across the multiple environments that shape their daily lives: the home, school, neighbourhood and community spaces, and the digital environment. The home plays a central role, as parents are adolescents’ primary caregivers and sources of support; however, communication around puberty, identity development and socio‑emotional challenges is not always easy, and parents may lack awareness of the pressures children face in their everyday environments or feel ill-equipped to respond to questions and concerns – particularly those related to norms of femininity and masculinity. In addition, not all parents have equal opportunities to spend quality time with their children to address these issues, due to work constraints, financial stress, or poverty.

Schools are critical settings for addressing barriers to learning that may affect boys and girls differently, fostering socio‑emotional skills, and providing safe and structured spaces where young people can discuss relationships, identity and social norms. Beyond school, neighbourhoods and community settings can be strengthened to offer safe “third places” where adolescents can meet, exchange views, receive guidance from older peers and trusted adults, and engage with positive role models and diverse perspectives in inclusive and empathetic environments.

The digital environment also warrants particular attention, as it increasingly shapes normative representations, social comparisons and expectations against which adolescents evaluate themselves and others. Promoting positive, safe and supportive digital spaces is therefore essential to adolescent well-being.

Finally, health environment – encompassing healthcare services and related supports – is equally important in providing medical and psychological care, as well as strengthening prevention.

Taken together, the interdependence of these environments highlights the need for integrated, cross-sectoral approaches to support adolescents’ social and emotional development and well-being. Supports across these domains should also recognise the distinct challenges faced by girls and boys, as well as the different ways in which social expectations and norms of femininity and masculinity can shape their experiences, vulnerabilities and well-being (World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, 2011[113]; UNICEF, 2024[114]).

The following section focusses on the challenges that can be addressed through strengthened support in families, schools, and communities, while leaving aside those related to healthcare systems, which are examined in other reports (OECD, 2025[4]).

4.1. Ensuring adolescents feel supported in the family and home environment

Supportive family and home environments are needed as they initially shape children’s and adolescents’ beliefs and behaviours and are a strong predictor of adolescent life satisfaction (Calmeiro, Camacho and de Matos, 2018[115]). The family and home environment covers a range of factors relating to the families and households in which children and adolescents grow up and simultaneously influence a large number of well-being outcomes. For example, family income adequacy impacts children’s well-being, health, and learning at the same time (OECD, 2021[7]). On one hand, strong family attachments and perceived parental care are protective factors for adolescents’ social and emotional well-being and essential components of children’s subjective well-being (OECD, 2026[8]). On the other, family relationship difficulties, excessive pressure, and parental rejection or neglect are associated with being unhappier, drops in pro-social behaviour, and heightened internalising and externalising behaviours like anxiety and delinquency, as well as mental disorders Invalid source specified..

Overall, adolescent girls tend to report more difficulties in family and home environment than boys across the OECD, notably in communicating with their parents and families. For example, girls are more likely to find good communication with a trusted adult in their home difficult, and less likely to be satisfied with their relationship with their parents. 42% of 11‑, 13‑ and 15‑year‑old girls report not being able to speak to any of their parents or stepparents about things that really bother them, compared to 26% of boys (Figure 8). This may reflect the fact that parents continue to employ differential parenting behaviour for boys and girls (Endendijk et al., 2016[121]) and signal girls’ greater need for support from their parents. Evidence from Hungary suggests that talking about problems with parents is a significant factor to lower depressive symptoms in adolescent girls, but not boys (Piko, Kovacs and Fitzpatrick, 2009[122]).

Figure 8. More adolescent girls find it difficult to talk to their parents

11‑, 13‑ and 15‑year‑old school children who report finding it difficult to talk to all their (step)parents about things that really bother them, 2021-2022

Note: *The difference between boys and girls is statistically significant at the 5% level. **The OECD average includes all countries depicted in the figure except Belgium and the United Kingdom.

11‑, 13‑ and 15‑year‑old school age children were asked four questions: “How easy is it for you to talk to the following people about things that really bother you?” with respect to 1) ”... Father”, 2) ”... Stepfather (or mother’s boyfriend/partner), 3) ”... Mother” and 4) ”Stepmother (or father’s girlfriend/partner)”. For each question, they were presented with the response options “Very easy”, “Easy”, “Difficult”, “Very Difficult” and “Don’t have or see this person”. Data refer to the percentage responding “Difficult” or “Very difficult” or “Don’t have or see this person” to all four questions. Children who respond that they “Don’t have or see this person” to all four questions are excluded.

Source: OECD Secretariat calculations based on the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) World Health Organization Collaborative Cross-National Survey 2021‑2022.

Fostering a home and family environment that supports open communication and a strong sense of parental support requires greater awareness among parents of the emotional challenges adolescents may face during this developmental stage. Parents also need conditions that enable them to spend sufficient time with their children, engage in meaningful conversations, and understand their concerns and questions. Working arrangements play a key role in this regard: parents’ work schedules must allow for adequate and predictable time with their children. Evidence suggests that working-time arrangements shape parent-child interactions in important ways. In the United States, mothers who work from home spend more time with their children than those who do not, while fathers with variable start and end times spend less time with their children than those with stable schedules (Genadek and Hill, 2017[123]). In Spain, on a typical weekday, children whose mothers work evenings spend 35 minutes less in educational and social activities with parents and 26 minutes more in unsupervised screen-based activities compared with children whose mothers have standard work schedules (Gracia and García-Román, 2018[124]). More broadly, workers experiencing role conflict often perceive workplaces with unpredictable demands in timing, frequency, and duration as undermining their ability to fulfil both work and family responsibilities (Conzon and Huising, 2024[125]).

Family poverty is also a significant stressor that affects not only the material resources parents can invest in supporting, caring for, and educating their children, but also the quality of parent-child interactions (OECD, 2021[7]). Material deprivation appears to influence parenting behaviours primarily by increasing parental stress, which in turn is strongly associated with a higher incidence of children’s health and behavioural problems (Gershoff et al., 2007[126]; Newland et al., 2013[127]; Schenck-Fontaine and Panico, 2019[128]). Financial stress has also been shown to increase children’s internalising and externalising behaviour problems regardless of family income level; in such cases, parental depression and intra-family conflict appear to be key mediating mechanisms (Jeanne Leininger and Kalil, 2014[129]; Ponnet, 2014[130]).

The home and family environment plays a central role in shaping adolescents’ beliefs and expectations about the roles and behaviours considered appropriate for girls and boys, with important implications for their social and emotional development. For example, adolescents growing up in households where girls and boys share domestic tasks – such as cleaning and cooking – are less likely to endorse stereotypical views of the roles of males and females than those in households where these responsibilities fall mainly on female relatives (OECD, 2024[54]).

Parents can be supported in helping adolescents navigate societal expectations associated with being male or female by receiving guidance on how to initiate and sustain age‑appropriate conversations on these topics. For instance, the Making Caring Common project developed by the Harvard Graduate School of Education provides practical guidance, including six tips to help parents engage in meaningful discussions with teenagers and young adults about misogyny and sexual harassment (Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2018[131]).

Parents play a crucial role in helping adolescents prevent and overcome addictive behaviours. Evidence from effective interventions highlights the importance of strengthening parenting practices – such as through parental training groups – and expanding access to supervised leisure activities, including sports facilities and extracurricular programmes (OECD, forthcoming[132]). These elements are central to the Icelandic Prevention Model (IPM), which aims to delay and reduce substance use among adolescents (e.g. tobacco, alcohol, cannabis). Programme evaluations show that successful outcomes are associated with stronger parent-child relationships, improved parental monitoring, and greater participation in organised activities, alongside reduced time spent unsupervised, particularly during late hours.

Promoting the role of engaged and supportive fathers and male caregivers may be a particularly promising avenue, especially for supporting adolescent boys. Fathers’ involvement in parenting is associated with reduced externalising behaviours among boys (Sarkadi et al., 2007[133]) and may also help model help-seeking behaviours, thereby encouraging adolescent boys to seek mental health support when needed (Rice, Purcell and McGorry, 2018[24]). Facilitating such involvement requires addressing the barriers fathers and male caregivers face in parenting, as they are often side‑lined in access to family support services, despite expressing a desire to be more involved in their children’s education and upbringing (Tarrant, Ladlow and Way, 2023[134]; Panter-Brick et al., 2014[135]).

4.2. Addressing barriers to learning affecting boys and girls and fostering socio‑emotional skills at school

Ensuring that the school environment provides adequate support for children’s flourishing – through strong school belonging, an inclusive climate, and positive peer and student-teacher relationships – while avoiding becoming a source of stress and anxiety, is essential for promoting development of their emotional and social skills (OECD, 2021[136]; 2024[30]). Schools can serve as a protective environment for adolescents when they foster social support, academic engagement, positive role models (such as teachers and sports coaches), and effective mental health promotion and prevention (Burns and Gottschalk, 2019[137]). Supportive student-teacher relationships are linked to reduced emotional distress and higher resilience in adolescents (Wong et al., 2021[138]; Danielsen et al., 2009[139]). Conversely, negative school experiences, including bullying or excessive academic pressure, are associated with poorer mental health outcomes, such as lower subjective well-being and higher levels of anxiety, depression, and suicidal ideation (Long, Zucca and Sweeting, 2020[140]; Van Ryzin, Gravely and Roseth, 2007[141]; Wang, Brinkworth and Eccles, 2013[142]).

Schools are often permeated by stereotypes and social expectations associated with being male or female, and previous OECD work has highlighted the importance of fostering more equitable educational experiences for girls and boys (Brussino and McBrien, 2022[51]). These patterns are reflected in the challenges met by adolescents in schools. For example, girls are considerably more likely than boys to report experiencing academic pressure (Figure 9). On the other hand, boys tend to face more difficulties related to academic performance and have less positive experiences in school. At age 15, boys perform worse on average across reading, mathematics and science (see Figure A.11 in the additional data that can be found clicking on the Support materials tab of the paper at this link: https://doi.org/10.1787/00ebd3dd-en) and are more likely to have repeated a grade at school (11% vs. 8%). Additionally, boys may be less likely to perceive their relationship with teachers to be positive and can even feel like the school environment may be biased against them. At age ten, boys are twice as likely than girls to disagree a lot with the statement “Teachers at my school are fair to me”, at 4.1% compared to 2% on average.

Figure 9. Adolescent girls feel more schoolwork pressure than their male peers

11‑, 13‑ and 15‑year‑old school children who report feeling a lot of schoolwork pressure, 2021-2022

Note: *The difference between boys and girls is statistically significant at the 5% level. **The OECD average includes all countries depicted in the figure except Belgium and the United Kingdom.

11‑, 13‑ and 15‑year‑old school age children were asked “How pressured do you feel by the schoolwork you have to do?” and presented with the response options “Not at all”, “A little”, “Some” and “A lot”. Data refer to the percentage responding “A lot”.

Source: OECD Secretariat calculations based on the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 Database and the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) World Health Organization Collaborative Cross-National Survey 2021‑2022.

Schools can support adolescent well-being in multiple ways. First, they can foster the development of adolescents’ social and emotional skills, notably by promoting a sense of belonging and positive peer relationships (OECD, 2024[109]). School connectedness and social competence are important predictors of adolescents’ life satisfaction (Calmeiro, Camacho and de Matos, 2018[115]). School environments in which students feel safe are particularly conducive to social and emotional development, including empathy, and can help reduce gaps between boys and girls – for example, encouraging the development of similar social and emotional skills among all students, regardless of sex (OECD, 2024[54]).

Schools are also a key setting in which adolescents experience and shape peer relationships, making the promotion of positive peer interactions and support critical. While girls tend to report higher levels of peer support than boys (63% compared with 55%), they are also more sensitive to interpersonal stress, as peer relationships play a central role in emotional support, validation, self-definition and identity formation (Rudolph, 2002[143]). At the same time, peer relationships can involve negative experiences: peer victimisation, including bullying, is associated with heightened emotional distress. Frequent bullying significantly increases the risk of depressive symptoms and is linked to suicidal behaviours (World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe, 2011[113]; Ye et al., 2023[144]). On average, 6% of 11, 13‑ and 15‑year‑old school children report being bullied at school at least weekly. Experiences of bullying are consistently associated with lower life satisfaction across OECD countries (Kim, 2025[145]). However, positive student – teacher relationships can buffer some of the harmful effects of bullying, highlighting the important role that schools can play not only in reducing the prevalence of bullying, but also in mitigating its impact when it occurs.

Specific dimensions of social and emotional well-being can also be directly targeted in school-based interventions. For example, in response to girls’ lower average levels of self-esteem and body satisfaction, programmes that encourage critical reflection on norms of femininity – particularly expectations related to physical appearance and appearance-based judgements – have shown particular promise (Tiggemann and Slater, 2015[44]). Schools are also well placed to implement interventions aimed at preventing sexualisation and sexual harassment, given the amount of time adolescents spend in school settings and the intensity of peer interactions that occur within them (Brussino and McBrien, 2022[51]).

In parallel, masculinity-focussed interventions can benefit adolescent boys across a broad range of outcomes, including self-efficacy, anger, and perceptions of manhood. Such interventions can take the form of workshops that engage boys in a safe and supportive environment, enabling them to express their thoughts, explore examples of healthy male behaviours, and expand their emotional range, while developing interpersonal skills and future‑oriented expectations (Tomorrow Man, 2025[146]). Evidence suggests that these interventions can be particularly effective when they are tailored to the specific needs, experiences and pressures faced by boys, rather than adopting a one-size-fits-all approach (Gwyther et al., 2019[147]). Providing dedicated spaces for boys may also facilitate more open expression and discussion. In addition, increasing the presence of male teachers in schools could help offer positive role models for adolescent boys and strengthen relational connections, school belonging and feelings of representation (Abrams, 2023[148]).

Despite this potential, institutional responses often remain insufficient, and schools may lack the capacity to address such challenges effectively – for example, due to limited teacher training in socio‑emotional development, mental health, and the ways in which norms of femininity and masculinity and related stereotypes can shape adolescents’ experiences. Strengthening partnerships between educators and mental health professionals can help provide more appropriate responses, and facilitate action planning within schools, establish clear referral mechanisms, facilitate co‑ordination with health and social services, and strengthen engagement with families and the wider community (OECD, 2024[109]). Moreover, interventions that address stereotypes related to male and female mental health conditions – such as mood disorders, trauma, or eating disorders – appear to be particularly effective in improving outcomes for adolescents, especially among those with more severe symptoms. By contrast, evidence of impact is more limited in universal or preventive programmes targeting broader populations without pronounced symptoms, where measurable improvements are often harder to detect.

4.3. Making the community and physical environment safer and more supportive for adolescents

Enhancing neighbourhood safety and quality – both through improvements to physical infrastructure and the social atmosphere – is particularly important for fostering social and emotional well-being in adolescence. The community and the physical environment in which children grow up play a crucial role in shaping their opportunities to play, socialise, meet friends, and engage in leisure and sports activities – all of which are essential for promoting their well-being. High-quality environments are characterised by physical and social safety, well-designed built spaces, accessible playgrounds, green spaces and areas to meet with friends, as well as a range of cultural, educational, recreational, and leisure facilities. These features not only support children’s individual development but also strengthen community cohesion (Sampson, Raudenbush and Earls, 1997[149]), creating conditions that allow children to thrive and flourish (Ferguson et al., 2013[150]; OECD, 2025[151])..

Importantly, neighbourhood poverty is a key factor associated with reduced safety and poorer quality of physical infrastructure and amenities. It also increases the likelihood of both physical and social disorder – reflected in visible signs of community decline such as vandalism, physical violence, litter, public intoxication, and loitering – which indicate weakened social control and contribute to heightened feelings of insecurity among residents. These adverse neighbourhood conditions are linked to both internalising and externalising difficulties in late childhood and adolescence. However, evidence from meta‑analyses indicates that neighbourhood deprivation is more strongly and consistently associated with externalising problem behaviours – such as conduct problems and delinquency – than with internalising difficulties like anxiety or depression (dos Santos et al., 2023[152]; Visser et al., 2021[153]). Adolescents living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods are also more likely to experience mental health problems, engage in delinquent behaviour, have unprotected sex, and use drugs (Choi, 2018[154]; Leventhal, Dupéré and Brooks-Gunn, 2009[155]). Exposure to community violence further exacerbates children’s vulnerabilities, being associated with higher rates of internalising symptoms – such as anxiety, depression, sadness, and post-traumatic stress – as well as externalising behaviours, including delinquency and antisocial conduct (Fowler et al., 2009[156]; Miliauskas et al., 2022[157]; Chen, Voisin and Jacobson, 2016[158]; Fleckman et al., 2016[159]).

Adolescent girls tend to feel less safe in their community than boys. A neighbourhood environment characterised by a high crime rate and where delinquency or violence are problems erodes children’s sense of safety and trust in the environment, increasing the risk of misconduct problems (Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn, 2000[160]). In contrast, perceived community safety is associated with decreased adolescent depressive symptoms (Dawson et al., 2019[161]) In a sample of 12 OECD countries surveyed between 2016 and 2019, 12‑year‑old girls are less likely to strongly agree that they feel safe when they walk around in the area they live in (73% against 81% for boys), a gap driven by significant differences in Finland, Hungary, Italy, Korea and Norway.

More broadly, adolescent girls may face greater difficulties in forming new social connections within their communities. Across nearly all OECD countries, 15‑year‑old girls reported in 2022 lower levels of trust in others than their male peers. On average, they are more likely to report feeling suspicious of others (49% compared with 39% of boys) and to believe that others may try to harm them (18% compared with 14%), while being less likely to believe that most people are honest (25% compared with 31%) or kind (43% compared with 40%). Previous research also suggests that girls who feel unsafe in their neighbourhoods are twice as likely to experience internalising problems, an association that is not observed among boys (Milam et al., 2011[162]).

Positive community ties can support adolescents by providing “third places” that offer opportunities for self-exploration, confidence building, friendships with peers outside of school, and avenues to take on new responsibilities and contribute to community life (McKendrick, 2014[163]). Through these interactions, community relationships play an important role in shaping adolescents’ attitudes towards violence, self-development and social identity. Communities can also connect adolescents with older peers and supportive adults – such as coaches, youth workers or extended family members – who may provide forms of guidance and support that parents are not always able to fulfil. Disadvantaged older males are an important source of socialisation for boys in poor neighbourhoods, thereby one potential pathway for neighbourhood socialisation (Harding, 2009[164]). The presence of such non-parental adults is associated with better mental health outcomes and lower engagement in risk-taking behaviours among adolescents (Sterrett et al., 2011[165]).

In communities affected by violence, strengthening specific protective factors can help buffer children from its negative effects and reduce the risk of violent or delinquent behaviour. These include parental support, the fostering of educational aspirations, and the promotion of a positive outlook on the future (Ozer et al., 2017[166]; Chen, Voisin and Jacobson, 2016[158]; Stoddard et al., 2015[167]; Fleckman et al., 2016[159]). For instance, the association between exposure to violence and delinquent behaviour is weaker among youth who express aspirations to complete high school or attend college (Chen, Voisin and Jacobson, 2016[158]; Stoddard et al., 2015[167]).

Community-based initiatives can also play an important role. Providing access to safe, inclusive and supervised volunteering opportunities can strengthen adolescents’ sense of belonging, purpose and social connectedness, while fostering supportive relationships with peers and adults. These factors are associated with better social and emotional well-being and can help build resilience in the face of adversity. To maximise these benefits, volunteering programmes should be well-structured, incorporate mentoring components, and provide meaningful opportunities for young people to participate in decision-making and shape the activities in which they are involved (Hernantes et al., 2020[168]).

4.4. Creating safe digital environments for and with boys and girls

Creating a digital environment that is both safe and supportive for adolescent girls and boys is essential. Such an environment should ensure access to trustworthy information and resources that help young people navigate issues related to self-image, identity development and emotional well-being. For many adolescents, digital media use is neutral or even beneficial; however, a vulnerable minority experiences problematic digital media use, which is associated with poorer well-being and mental health outcomes and can exacerbate pre‑existing socio‑emotional difficulties (OECD, 2025[169]). This challenge is particularly acute during adolescence, a period in which engagement with digital tools typically increases while adult supervision tends to decline, resulting in prolonged online exposure at a critical developmental stage. At the same time, heightened peer influence, ongoing identity formation and increased sensitivity to algorithmic designs that encourage extended engagement make adolescents especially susceptible to harmful or distressing content.

Adolescent girls disproportionately face certain risks online, including for their body image, cyberbullying, and online sexual harassment. Unrealistic beauty standards encountered online and on social media increase the risk of developing a negative body image and may be particularly harmful for girls. Moreover, girls are more likely than boys to experience cyberbullying and to report negative reactions to experiences online, such as being upset when encountering age‑inappropriate content, receiving offending messages or discriminatory content, or having personal information shared without their consent (Figure 10) (OECD, 2025[169]). Girls are also particularly exposed to sexualised content and sexual cyberbullying, which includes non-consensual sharing of nude images, sexually explicit messages, or coercive threats involving sexual content (Ehman and Gross, 2019[170]). Social media platforms have notably been associated with an increased level of sexual objectification of women, depicting girls and women as sexually available and objectified (Ringrose et al., 2012[171]; Vandenbosch and Eggermont, 2012[45]). The increasing use of social media may increase appearance‑related pressures: a survey conducted in the United Kingdom among girls aged 11 to 16 found an increase in the proportion of girls saying they wanted to lose weight, from 51% in 2018 to 61% in 2024 (Girlguiding, 2024[172]). Additionally, social media can amplify pressures on girls to conform to these sexualised representations by encouraging them to post personal pictures aligned with restrictive or sexualised forms of femininity (Ng, 2017[173]). Online sexual harassment is also a major risk for adolescents (Mohler-Kuo et al., 2014[174]), with evidence suggesting that the psychological consequences – such as depressive symptoms – can be more severe for girls than for boys (Copp, Mumford and Taylor, 2021[175]).

On the other hand, adolescent boys tend to be more exposed to hateful content that promotes harmful norms of masculinity and hostility towards women (Box 3). While the internet can provide inclusive spaces for diverse representation of masculinity and foster self-expression (Foster and Baker, 2022[176]), hateful contents distort expectations about how boys should look, act, and express themselves. Such content may even contribute to offline antisocial behaviour (Scotto di Carlo, 2023[177]; Diepeveen, 2024[178]). Evidence from the United Kingdom suggests that boys are increasingly, and disproportionately compared to girls, exposed to such content on social media (Dean and Davidge, 2023[179]). For example, misogynist content on platforms has been shown to rapidly increase in boy’s feeds, quadrupling within five days of content consumption (Regehr et al., 2024[180]). In a 2023 UK survey, 85% of 13‑ to 15‑year‑old boys had heard of the same misogynistic influencer, with around 25% of boys expressing agreement with his views on masculinity (Internet Matters, 2023[181]).

Supporting positive online experiences for adolescent girls and boys requires a multifaceted approach (OECD, 2025[169]). Adolescents’ safety must primarily be ensured through robust regulatory frameworks and the widespread adoption of safe technologies and services. This includes also promoting critical digital and media literacy and facilitating the transmission of experience from older to younger children, while recognising that responsibility for protection from inappropriate or harmful content cannot rest solely with adolescents and their parents (Hill, 2022[182]). Digital service providers, in particular, have a responsibility to respect adolescents’ privacy, prevent the dissemination of inappropriate content, and put in place clear and accessible reporting and enforcement mechanisms to address harmful online experiences (OECD, 2022[183]; 2021[184]). Governments, in turn, play a crucial role in establishing and enforcing regulations and standards that bind digital service providers and incentivise protective approaches in the design of digital services and devices commonly used by adolescents. In parallel – and especially while stronger safety measures in digital spaces are still being developed and implemented – parents and carers should be empowered to better understand the risks and opportunities of the digital environment and supported in helping their children develop safe and responsible online practices.

Figure 10. Girls are more likely than boys to have gotten upset the last time they encountered negative content online

15‑year‑old students who report getting upset the last time they… (2022)

Note: *The difference between boys and girls is statistically significant at the 5% level.

15‑year‑old students were asked “How upset were you the last time the following situations occurred?” with respect to “Encountering content online that was inappropriate for my age”, “Encountering discriminatory content online (e.g. about race, gender, sexual orientation or physical appearance)”, and “Receiving unkind, vulgar or offending messages, comments or videos”. The presented response options for each of the statements were “This did not happen to me”, “Not at all upset”, “A little upset”, “Quite upset” and “Very upset”. Data refer to the percentage responding “A little upset”, “Quite upset” or “Very upset” to a given situation.

Source: OECD Secretariat calculations based on the OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022 Database.

Box 3. Can some online spaces encourage antisocial behaviours in adolescent boys?

Certain online communities that amplify restrictive masculinity norms – such as misogynistic, hateful or violent spaces including parts of the “manosphere” and “incel” groups – can negatively affect adolescent boys’ social and emotional well-being. These predominantly male online spaces are often driven by anti-feminist worldviews and activism, and while they are most popular among young adult men, adolescents as young as 15 are also exposed to and engage with them (Scotto di Carlo, 2023[177]). Evidence suggests that these spaces may contribute to antisocial behaviours, including interpersonal and gender-based violence, although further research is needed to fully understand the causal pathways involved.

Reinforcement of restrictive masculinity norms

Misogynistic online spaces frequently reflect and perpetuate rigid and unequal stereotypes about males and females through hostile, degrading and sometimes violent discourse. Girls and women are often portrayed with contempt, including through sexualisation, objectification and dehumanisation, alongside intersecting forms of discrimination such as racism and homophobia (Scotto di Carlo, 2023[177]; Hopton and Langer, 2021[185]). These narratives can distort adolescents’ understandings of the roles and expectations associated with being male or female. Such spaces may also negatively affect boys’ self-perception and body image by promoting unrealistic ideals of masculinity – such as extreme muscularity, height or physical dominance – and overemphasising their role in social status. In addition, the frequent expression and trivialisation of mental ill-health (e.g. loneliness, depression and suicidality) may heighten exposure to negative affects and undermine adolescents’ mental well-being.

Normalisation of antisocial and violent behaviours

Some of these online spaces explicitly endorse or trivialise antisocial behaviours, including hate speech and gender-based violence. While certain expressions may be exaggerated or performative for some users (Scotto di Carlo, 2023[177]), adolescent boys may be less equipped to interpret such content critically. Exposure to violent or degrading pornographic content is an additional concern. Evidence from France and the United States shows that early exposure to pornography depicting unequal or violent sexual relations is associated with greater acceptance of non-consensual or violent sexual behaviours later in life, and that boys around age 15 exposed to violent pornography are two to three times more likely to report perpetrating or experiencing sexual dating violence (Pierre-Brossolette et al., 2024[186]; Rostad et al., 2019[187]).

Indirect influences through parents and peers

Online misogynistic content can also affect adolescent boys indirectly via parents and peers, who play a key role in shaping their children’s attitudes. For example, a 2023 survey in the United Kingdom found that a higher share of fathers under age 35 (56%) than teenage boys (23%) reported approving of a prominent misogynistic influencer, highlighting potential intergenerational transmission of such views (Internet Matters, 2023[181]).

While evidence on the impact of online discourse on adolescent boys’ antisocial behaviours offline remains insufficient, online contents have been found to move off screens, including in schools and in adolescents’ personal lives (Regehr et al., 2024[180]). Further research is needed to better document adolescents’ exposure to these communities and their effects on externalising behaviours and social and emotional well-being. At the same time, adolescent boys’ engagement in such spaces may also signal unmet needs for belonging, emotional expression, social support and role models – needs that can be addressed through targeted interventions creating alternative, protective and supportive spaces for boys, both online and offline (Diepeveen, 2024[178]).