Mental health disorders among young English people have increased in recent years

According to the latest NHS statistics, one in four young women aged 17 to 19 has a mental disorder, and one in five suffers from anxiety or depression, or both. According to new data, one in eight children has mental health problems in all children and youth aged 5 to 19 years.

The figures come from a survey conducted by NHS Digital. The team, in which we participated, interviewed more than 9,000 children and young people from all over England and their parents. When parents agreed, teachers were asked to complete questionnaires about the child. Clinical "evaluators" used this information to decide whether children were classified as mental disorders, using internationally recognized criteria. This system means that the information is more complete, accurate and rounded than many mental health surveys.

Work in the dark

We have been waiting for these numbers for a long time. The last national survey took place in 2004 and was published in 2005. Since then, the country has experienced an economic crisis (2007-2008) and, subsequently, years of austerity. Young people are also facing different challenges, such as interacting with the digital world. This long gap means that people who plan mental health services and support for youth work mostly in the dark.

The increase in the number of mental disorders since 2004 is not as significant as some would have predicted (it has gone from one in ten to one in nine at the age of 15 to 15), but the results of the survey remains alarming.

In a class of 25, two to three children are likely to have a mental disorder. In a friendship group of ten young women, two are likely to suffer from anxiety or depression, or both. This is a huge burden to bear when starting in adult life. It's also a huge challenge for parents, teachers, doctors and society.

The latest report from the Children's Commissioner of England suggests that many children with mental disorders still do not have access to the specialized help they could receive.

Social media

So what is the cause of this increase in mental health disorders? Frustrating, the survey can not answer this question directly. In many conversations about children's mental health, social media, austerity and the pressure of exams have been singled out. But this survey is a snapshot and therefore can not explain the cause of this increase in mental disorders among young Englishmen.

Survey shows that youth with mental health conditions spend more time on screens and are more concerned about social media than those who do not, but it is not possible to say how the causality works . Is the excessive use of social media the result of a mental health disorder or a cause of it? For example, are young people who feel isolated, anxious or socially challenged more likely to spend time outdoors on screens as shelters?

Studies over time rather than snapshots will be better positioned to answer these questions. There are also important research questions about how we can harness the positive aspects of social media and find ways to address potential negative effects. What could we do better or more to help young people negotiate a digital world?

We urgently need answers to these questions to find ways to improve the mental health of young people.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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