Teenage anxiety and depression more common than thought, self-harm and self-injury more common than thought｜New research on global adolescent psychology

Foreword Australia has a tradition of conducting mental health surveys of its population, and has conducted six national mental health surveys since 1997.These include the Survey of More Common Mental Disorders in Adults in 1997 and 2007, and the Survey of the Status of Unusual Mental Disorders in Adults in 1998 and 2010.The Australian Government places a strong emphasis on prevention and early intervention of psychological problems in children and young people.The world’s first national survey of child and adolescent mental health was conducted in 1998 and the results were released in 2000.

A second child and adolescent mental health survey was launched in 2013, 15 years later, and the report, The Mental Health of Children and Adolescents, was released in 2015.

In recent years, the report has been used as an important reference for understanding the mental health of Australia’s young people and for the development of education, counselling services and health resource allocation and policy.

Since the epidemic, adolescent mental health issues have received renewed global attention.

This article is dedicated to capturing key data from the Second Australian Child and Adolescent Mental Health Survey, with the hope that it will provide parents and interested readers with insights into.

What are the common trends in psychological problems in the adolescent population?

What are the specific age groups and types of psychological disorders that require special attention from parents, society, government and educational organisations?

One in five young people experience psychological problems.

In 2013-14, the Commonwealth Health Department conducted a wide-ranging survey of the 11-17 year old population called Valuing Young Minds Matter.

Between June 2013 and April 2014, 76,606 Australian households were surveyed, with up to six visits to a single household.

A total of 6,310 (55%) eligible households and 2,967 (89%) eligible young people participated in person and responded to specific survey components.

Based on self-reported data from 11-17 year olds.

One fifth (20%) of adolescents had a high (13%) or very high (6.6%) level of psychological distress.

By gender, the proportion of girls with higher or very high levels of psychological distress was more significant (16% and 9.5% respectively) compared to boys (10% and 4.0%).

By age group, the proportion of 16-17 year olds with higher or very high levels of psychological distress was more significant (11% and 16%) compared to 11-15 year olds (4.8% and 12%).

Three common types of psychological distress in children and adolescents.

Based on information collected from parents/carers, it appears that in 2013-2014, among the Australian youth population aged 12 to 17 years.

The sample size estimated that 245,000 people (approximately 14%) had suffered from psychological problems in the 12 months prior to the survey. The proportion was higher for boys than for girls (16% and 13% respectively).

Anxiety and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were the most common symptoms (7.0% and 6.3%, respectively).

Anxiety was the most common psychological disorder for girls (7.7%) and ADHD was the most common psychological disorder for boys (9.8%).

Alarming rates of self-harm and suicidal thoughts.

The prevalence of self-harm and suicidal thoughts in the adolescent population is particularly alarming.

About 1 in 10 Australian teenagers say they have self-harmed, and 3 in 4 have done so in the past 12 months.

In terms of depression, there is a discrepancy between parents’ judgement of their child and the reality of the situation.

According to information provided by parents and carers, the rate of depression found in the survey was 4.7%.

However, when children in the 11-17 age group themselves gave information to the surveyors, the rate of diagnosed depression was 7.7%.

The incidence of depression was higher for specific age and gender groups.

Depression was more pronounced among girls aged 16-17, with nearly 1 in 5 girls in this age group having met clinical criteria for depression at some point in their lives.

These findings are important signs to note as many parents are facing the daunting task of helping their children transition from childhood to adulthood, according to the report.

11% of adolescents meet criteria for major depression.

The survey specifically collected information on people aged 11-17 with major depression, both directly from the adolescents themselves, and from their parents/carers.

When information from parents/carers and information provided by the adolescents themselves were considered together, 11% of adolescents aged 11-17 met the criteria for a diagnosis of major depression.

It is worth noting that adolescent depression is often overlooked by parents.

Feedback that parents/caregivers were “completely unaware” of the child’s feelings when they made their own assessment of their parents or caregivers was as follows.

7.4% of those without major depression.

Among those whose parents/carers and the adolescent themselves both believe they have major depression: 15%.

Of those who reported major depression only by the adolescent: 30%.

The link between mental health problems and economic status.

Furthermore, this survey again highlights the strong relationship between economic disadvantage and higher rates of psychological problems. This has been found and corroborated in other international studies.

Children and adolescents in low-income families, with lower levels of parental and caregiver education and higher rates of unemployment, had a relatively higher frequency of psychological problems in the past 12 months.

And, there was a strong correlation between the incidence of psychological problems and where they lived, with significantly higher rates of psychological disorders among young people in non-metropolitan areas.

Has the situation changed over time?

According to the findings of Valuing Young Minds Matter, the level of change in the three types of psychological disorders among young people aged 12 to 17 years compared to the two surveys from 1998 to 2013 was.

The proportion of patients with any type of psychological disorder was 10% in 1998 and 11% in 2013-14.

The proportion of patients with ADHD (7.1% in 1998 and 6.3% in 2013-14) and those with conduct disorder (2.2% to 2.1%) also remained relatively stable.

However, the proportion of people with major depressive disorder increased from 2.9% to 5.0%.

In addition, the One Forest Family Education Global Research Theme Group compared recent data and found that.

Self-harm and self-harming behaviour among the Australian youth population has remained on a rapid rise.

Between 2006-2017, the Australian Institute for Health Cover (AIHW) continuously tracked admissions to hospital for self-harm and self-harm among 15-24 year olds.

In terms of specific data, between 2007-08 and 2016-17.

Cases of self-harm and self-injury among 15-24 year olds increased from 227 cases/100,000 in 2007-08 to 344 cases/100,000 in 2016-17, an increase of 52%.

The largest increase was for females in the 15-19 age group, where the self-harm self-injury rate increased from 359 cases per 100,000 people in 2007-08 to 686 cases per 100,000 people in 2016-17, an increase of 91%.

The above is the full content of the latest global adolescent psychology study in this issue.