Data released by the Financial Times (FT) has highlighted the extent of work-affecting sickness among Britain's youth.
According to the publication, in excess of 500,000 young Britons are officially considered to be too ill to work and, as a result, obtain benefits for incapacity.
"There is a second generation of people coming onto incapacity benefits for mental reasons. This may well be related to ingrained hopelessness in particular areas," said Paul Bivand, a welfare-to-work expert at think-tank Inclusion.
Meanwhile, Sue Christoforou, a representative from Mind, a charity specialising in mental health, added: "Society is much faster paced, the workplace is more competitive and there are more short-term contracts."
The data obtained by the FT also takes in over 300,000 individuals who are obtaining incapacity benefits in relation to psychological or behavioural conditions.
Incapacity benefit can only be issued to individuals initially below the age of entitlement for a state pension.
Such persons must also have been either self-employed or employed.
