The picture of the malaise of young French people is becoming even clearer: a little over 81% of children aged 3 to 6 attending nursery school in France experience at least one probable mental health problem, according to a study published on Tuesday.
This is the first national survey on mental health in France to focus on children so young. And a new part of the epidemiological study on the well-being and mental health of children aged 3 to 11 in school in mainland France (Enabee) conducted by Santé publique France.
By combining the perspectives of parents and teachers on a representative sample of more than 2,600 children, this study, conducted in 2022, reveals that 8.3% of children in kindergarten have “at least one probable mental health difficulty, of the emotional, oppositional or inattention/hyperactivity type, impacting their daily life”.
In other words, approximately one in twelve children attending nursery school in metropolitan France is affected.
"These data raise the scale of the public health problem," Stephanie Monnier-Besnard, an epidemiologist and project manager of the Enabee study, told AFP. But "it's not a surprise that children so young can encounter probable mental health difficulties, it's consistent with" all the observations.
And, she noted, "it is the same order of magnitude as the results of similar studies in France or in fairly comparable countries, such as Germany or the United States."
In detail, 1.8% of children in kindergarten to kindergarten have “emotional difficulties”, 5.9% have “oppositional difficulties”, 1.9% have “inattention/hyperactivity difficulties”, the study estimates, based on data collected by questionnaire – online or by telephone – between May and July 2022.
"Even if the increased sensitivity to mental health can eventually lead to overestimating certain phenomena a little, this must be balanced with the fact that children's mental health has long been neglected and considered less than their physical health," observed Stephanie Monnier-Besnard.
Another lesson: boys present more probable difficulties with repercussions on their life (11.3%) than girls (5.2%).
"On the differences between boys and girls, the results are consistent with the clinical observations of mental health professionals in particular," Nolwenn Regnault, head of the "Perinatality, Early Childhood and Mental Health" unit at SpF, told AFP.
– “Critical period of development” –
Nearly 13% of children attending nursery school consulted a health professional at least once for psychological or learning difficulties during the twelve months preceding the study.
And about a third of children with at least one type of probable difficulty with an impact on their daily life consulted a mental health professional in the previous year.
"Caution" however in interpreting the results, warns Public Health France, because "at these early ages, behavioral or emotional difficulties can evolve rapidly and their measurement is impacted by the perceptions and expectations of the adult respondents."
And these are not clinical diagnoses but an epidemiological representation.
There is "no point of comparison with pre-Covid: Enabee describes the situation in 2022, a future edition of the study will make it possible to describe the evolutions of the well-being and mental health of children", indicated Nolwenn Regnault.
Knowing that "children's mental health is closely linked to multiple factors", this study "allows us to identify and target the factors that can alter it, starting in early childhood, a critical period of development", stressed Dr Caroline Semaille, Director General of Public Health France, in a press release.
This confirms the need to intervene from a very young age and to improve mental health support systems before the age of 6, according to the agency, which mentions psychosocial skills, for example.
For 6-11 year olds, 13% presented at least one probable mental health disorder, according to the first part of the study, published in mid-2023 and also including the children's perspective.
Mental health had been declared a "major national cause" for 2025 by the late Barnier government. A choice that was favourably received in a sector in persistent crisis, where several voices have above all called for sufficient resources.
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