This post reflects on analysis published by the Economics Observatory, drawing on data from the Understanding Society longitudinal survey, which examined changes in young people’s mental health following the 2016 UK EU referendum.
Why this matters for therapists
Therapists working with children and young people are often focused on what unfolds within sessions — thoughts, emotions, behaviours, and relationships. Yet young people’s emotional lives are also shaped by the wider contexts they grow up in, including social attitudes, community climates, and political events.
This post reflects on analysis published by the Economics Observatory exploring how the 2016 UK EU referendum may have been associated with changes in mental health among ethnic minority youth. While this is not clinical research, it raises important contextual questions for practice — particularly around belonging, identity, and emotional safety.
Here, we consider what the evidence suggests, where its limits lie, and what therapists might hold in mind when thinking about assessment, formulation, and context in everyday work.
What the evidence actually says
The Economics Observatory article draws on data from the Understanding Society longitudinal survey to explore changes in mental health following the 2016 referendum. The analysis suggests that:
- Young people from ethnic minority backgrounds living in areas with stronger support for Brexit experienced a deterioration in mental health after the referendum, measured using a general wellbeing scale.
- This pattern was not observed among white British youth or older ethnic minority adults, pointing to a possible age-specific effect.
- The authors propose that these changes may relate to shifts in local social environments — including experiences of exclusion or heightened distress — rather than purely economic factors.
It is important to emphasise that this reflects an epidemiological association, not a clinical trial or therapy outcome study. The findings identify patterns at a population level; they do not demonstrate direct causation at the level of individual experience.
What this does — and doesn’t — tell us
What it does tell us
- That wider social and political climates can correlate with measurable differences in wellbeing, particularly for groups already experiencing disadvantage.
- That the relationship between context and mental health may differ by age and ethnicity, aligning with broader theories about cumulative stress and social marginalisation.
What it doesn’t tell us
- That Brexit directly caused anxiety or depression for any individual young person.
- How therapy should be delivered or adapted based on these findings alone.
- Whether these effects persist over time or generalise to other sociopolitical contexts.
Holding these boundaries matters. Over-interpretation risks overstating the evidence, while ignoring contextual findings risks missing factors that may be meaningful for young people.
Bringing this into therapeutic thinking
Context matters
Young people’s internal worlds do not develop in isolation. Sociopolitical events — and the social attitudes that accompany them — can influence a sense of safety, belonging, and identity. When a young person speaks about “feeling different”, “not fitting in”, or being treated differently, these wider background processes may form part of what they are trying to make sense of.
Identity and wellbeing are linked
Late adolescence and early adulthood are particularly important periods for identity development. When the social environment feels exclusionary or hostile, this can plausibly contribute to anxiety, lowered self-confidence, or social withdrawal — even though these experiences cannot be attributed to a single event or factor.
Ask about social context, not politics
Inviting young people to talk about experiences of belonging, inclusion, and safety — rather than political opinions — can offer clinically useful information without turning therapy into social or political commentary.
Possible clinical takeaways & questions for further reflection
- Avoid over-attribution: Social context may be relevant, but it is only one part of formulation.
- Assess stressors broadly: Events that shape community attitudes can indirectly influence emotional experience.
- Attend to identity safety: For young people from minority backgrounds, questions about where they feel safe to be themselves can open up formulation-relevant material.
Rather than offering conclusions, this analysis leaves us with important questions for practice:
- How might wider social climates influence a young person’s sense of safety, belonging, or visibility?
- When young people describe feeling “different” or “unwelcome”, what contextual factors might be worth exploring gently?
- How can therapists hold social context in mind without over-attributing or pathologising?
- What helps young people feel seen and understood when wider environments feel uncertain or threatening?
These are not questions with straightforward answers — but they are ones that may support more nuanced, context-sensitive therapeutic work.