The study of 1,600 16 to 25-year-olds, carried out by the charity Central YMCA, asked them about the biggest challenges and threats they faced.
The responses have been collated into an index of issues, with those most commonly cited as harmful scoring 100.
Top of the list was a lack of employment opportunities, which scored 100, while failing to succeed in the education system scored 92 and issues relating to body image 86.
Other risks ranking highly included family breakdown (scoring 81), substance abuse (78), a lack of affordable housing (73), issues relating to social media (68), and crime (49).
At the other end of the rankings were issues that the young people did not consider to be as harmful, including a lack of a political voice, which scored just 5, a worsening environment (14), and sexual health (27).
Central YMCA works with thousands of young people that have fallen out of the mainstream education system each year through its Study Programme, which is funded by the Department for Education.
The programme helps young people who are not yet ready to go into work, by easing them back into education and working through Apprenticeship schemes.
It also runs a Get on Track programme – a free, six-week employability mentoring programme designed to help young people improve their communication, teamwork, confidence, health and wellbeing.
Rosi Prescott, CEO at Central YMCA, said: “The challenges facing young people today are wide, complex and constantly changing, which is why it is essential that we continue to listen to the needs of young people and find ways to address issues causing them harm.
“One of the results which might be surprising is the emphasis placed on issues relating to body image, revealing the vulnerability of young people to such concerns and suggesting the very real, lasting damage caused by low self-esteem.”
A full list of the rankings and the report itself can be found at www.ymca.co.uk/ymca-world-of-good-report-2016