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According to a new study, over one in four Australian high school students has shown signs of clinical depression and other psychiatric disorders, but most of them do not get professional support. of mental health.
The UNSW study – published in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Illnesses – offers a disturbing insight into the lack of mental health support that adolescents have access to, with only 20 to 25% of students with a suggested psychiatric disorder, claiming to have sought the help of a general practitioner or from a mental health professional.
The anonymous survey, led by Gordon Parker AO, professor of psychiatry at UNSW Scientia and founder of the Black Dog Institute, asked more than 1500 grade 11 and 12 students questions about the mood and anxiety during recent times and their lives, and collected details about their history. self-harm behaviors, suicide ideas, and a history of intimidation. Professor Parker said the study was conducted in response to community concerns about the suicide of a number of students from the Upper North Shore who had committed suicide. in previous years.
"We quantified the fact that 26.8% of students met the criteria for major (clinical) depression, 21.5% for social anxiety disorders and 1.0% for bipolar disorders," he said. Professor Parker.
"We also found that suicidal thoughts and self-harm were significantly higher in people with melancholic depression or bipolar disorder than in students with other disorders or no disease at all."
Of the students who experienced major depression (clinical), 29% had a history of self-harm and 59% felt suicidal during their lifetime, and among those with melancholic depression, 50% had 39 were self-mutilated and 60% were suicidal. . Of the students whose responses matched the diagnosis of bipolar disorder, 57% were self-injured and 90% were suicidal.
The survey also found that the suicide rate and history of self-harm was higher among female students: 6.5% of boys and 19.1% of girls had self-sufficiency. – wounded or overdosed, while 26.5% of students and 33.8% of female students had thought about suicide in their lifetime.
"The study also highlights the seriousness of intimidation and the consequences of such vicious personal attacks on vulnerable youth in depression," said Professor Parker.
Nearly 18% of boys and 8.5% of girls had been bullied about their depression, with rates being higher among those with melancholic depression or bipolar disorder.
Professor Parker stated that the study had established that the majority of at-risk high school students with such treatable diseases had not asked for help. Of the 69 students with melancholic depression or bipolar disorder, 52 were currently suicidal but had never had psychiatric consultation.
"It is therefore unlikely that they are aware of their condition and their fitness for treatment and remain at serious risk," he said.
The anonymous survey was conducted with the consent of parents, school counselors and directors. The questions were based on a set of guidelines used by psychiatrists and mental health professionals for psychiatric diagnoses, including detailed criteria for major depressive disorder, social anxiety, panic attacks, and psychiatric disorder. post-traumatic stress, while eating disorders were also badessed.
