The survey commissioned by UCL's Grand Challenge of Mental Health and Wellbeing, found antidepressants are seen most positively by those who have ever needed mental health treatment.

Professor Argyris Stringaris (UCL Psychiatry), UCL Grand Challenges Pro-Vice Provost (Mental Health and Wellbeing), said: ‘While there is a lot of negative press about antidepressants, interestingly, our findings suggest that scepticism primarily comes from people who have never needed mental health treatment of any kind. Young people who have had depression – and particularly those who have ever taken antidepressants – appear to be the most supportive of the use of antidepressants.'

Almost two-thirds of young people who have had depression (63-64%) said antidepressants were effective compared to 54% of those who have never had depression. Similarly, most respondents (65%) said they thought antidepressants were safe, particularly among people with current depression (74% of whom thought that antidepressants were safe), followed by those who had recovered from depression (70% said they were safe) and lowest in people who have never experienced depression (60%).

When asked how they would feel if prescribed antidepressants, young people who have had depression were most likely to say they'd feel hopeful (36-37%), with 29% saying they would be worried, contrasting with those who have never had depression, who were most likely to say they'd feel worried (35% in this group), with 27% expecting to feel hopeful.

In people who have never experienced depression, more people thought antidepressants were addictive (45%) than not addictive (23%). This was the other way round in people currently depressed – 36% thought they were addictive, 40% thought not addictive.

Among the respondents who had experienced severe depression, more of them had tried talking therapies (76%) than antidepressants (58%), and among those who had tried antidepressants, 83% had found them to be helpful.

While most young people said they would be comfortable with their friends or family knowing they were prescribed antidepressants (64% and 58%, respectively), only 25% said they would be comfortable with their colleagues knowing this.

Around half of respondents (53%) said they have experienced depression, including one in six (16% of the total) who say they are currently depressed, in line with other UCL research showing an increase in mental ill-health in recent years, as mental health difficulties among young adults in England have doubled in the past decade.

The survey findings also revealed that mental health professionals are the most trusted source of mental health treatment advice, as 73% said they would trust them a great deal or a fair amount. While GPs are typically the first point of access to mental health treatment, only 46% said they would trust GPs for mental health treatment advice.

Most young people were sceptical about accessing mental health advice from social media or from AI: 75% said they would trust generative AI little or not at all, and 71% would not trust social media platforms much for mental health information.