Youth mental health crisis explained

The ongoing youth mental health crisis refers to the significant rise in mental health challenges among adolescents and young adults in the US,[1] Canada,[2] the UK,[3] and Europe.[4] The trend began in the early 2010s and escalated during the COVID-19 pandemic. Notable issues include increasing rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm, and suicide. Girls are particularly vulnerable.[5] [6]

History

In October 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), and the Children's Hospital Association (CHA) jointly declared a "national emergency in child and adolescent mental health."[7] Two months later, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy published a rare public health advisory, sounding alarm at a "devastating" decline in mental health faced by young people in America.[8] According to the report, while the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the trend, the sharp drop in youth mental health had already begun ten years prior.[9]

Prevalence

Between 2014 and 2024, the suicide rate for young Americans aged 10-24 years has risen by 56%, with Black youth experiencing a particularly sharp rise of 78%.[10] Among adolescents aged 10-14, the suicide rate surged by 167% for girls and 91% for boys between 2010 and 2020.[11] Other signs of mental health distress, such as self-harm episodes, major depressive episodes, anxiety, have also shown similar growth.

Possible causes

A 2021 report by the U.S. Surgeon General suggested that "messages through the media and popular culture that erode [adolescents'] sense of self-worth" may be responsible. Similarly, in a 2023 statement, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) recognised the risks of "excessive use of social media", but also called attention to social and political malaise, as well as anxieties over climate change.[12]

The 2024 best-selling book The Anxious Generation by American social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, argued that the rise of "phone-based" childhood and overprotective parenting has disrupted social and neurological development of adolescents. The book highlighted several negative factors, including social anxiety, attention fragmentation, sleep deprivation, and addiction.[13] Others have disputed Haidt's theory.[14]

A survey conducted by Politico in April 2024, involving 1,400 medical and mental health professions, identified the following factors as the primary drivers of mental health issues in children: social media (cited by 28% respondents), external events such as school shootings, climate change, war, and political instability (14%), social isolation (13%), and lack of skills to be more independents (12%).[15]

David Wallace-Wells of The New York Times suggested that the spike may at least partly be attributed to "changing methods of measuring and addressing mental health and mental illness."[16]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Payne . Daniel . 10 April 2024 . Anxiety and depression is spiking among young people. No one knows why. . 11 September 2024 . Politico.
  2. Web site: Northcott . Alison . 26 February 2023 . Canadian teens still struggling with mental health even as pandemic wanes . 11 September 2024 . CBC.
  3. News: Davey . Melissa . 14 August 2024 . 'Alarming' surge in mental ill health among young people in face of 'unprecedented' challenges, experts warn . 11 September 2024 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
  4. Web site: March 2024 . Children's Mental Health across Europe . 11 September 2024 . Eurochild.
  5. Web site: Terry . Ken . 7 May 2024 . Teen Mental Health Crisis Deepens: What to Know . 10 September 2024 . WebMD . en.
  6. Radhakrishnan . Lakshmi . 2022 . Pediatric Emergency Department Visits Associated with Mental Health Conditions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January 2019–January 2022 . MMWR. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . en-us . 71 . 8 . 319–324 . 10.15585/mmwr.mm7108e2 . 0149-2195. free . 35202358 .
  7. Web site: 19 October 2021 . AAP-AACAP-CHA Declaration of a National Emergency in Child and Adolescent Mental Health . 10 September 2024 . American Academy of Pediatrics . en.
  8. Web site: December 2021 . Protecting Youth Mental Health: The U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory . U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  9. Web site: Richtel . Matt . 7 December 2021 . Surgeon General Warns of Youth Mental Health Crisis . https://archive.today/20230501044519/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/07/science/pandemic-adolescents-depression-anxiety.html . 1 May 2023 . 10 September 2024 . The New York Times.
  10. Ajluni . Victor . Amarasinghe . Daniel . 2024-05-23 . Youth suicide crisis: identifying at-risk individuals and prevention strategies . Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health . 18 . 1 . 58 . 10.1186/s13034-024-00753-9 . free . 1753-2000 . 38783338. 11119010 .
  11. Book: Haidt . Jonathan . The anxious generation: how the great rewiring of childhood is causing an epidemic of mental illness . 2024 . Penguin Press . 978-0593655030 . New York.
  12. Web site: 2023-11-13 . Young people's mental health problems are deeply rooted in political decisions . 2024-09-10 . European Economic and Social Committee . en.
  13. Remnick . David . David Remnick . April 20, 2024 . Jonathan Haidt Wants You to Take Away Your Kid's Phone . The New Yorker.
  14. Odgers . Candice L. . March 29, 2024 . The great rewiring: is social media really behind an epidemic of teenage mental illness? . live . . en . 628 . 8006 . 29–30 . 10.1038/d41586-024-00902-2 . 2024Natur.628...29O . https://web.archive.org/web/20240910185035/https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-024-00902-2 . September 10, 2024 . April 21, 2024.
  15. Web site: Smith . Erin . Payne . Daniel . 10 April 2024 . What's driving the youth mental health crisis? We asked 1,400 clinicians. . 11 September 2024 . Politico.
  16. Web site: Wallace-Wells . David . 1 May 2024 . Are Smartphones Driving Our Teens to Depression? . https://archive.today/20240526163551/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/01/opinion/smartphones-social-media-mental-health-teens.html . 26 May 2024 . 10 September 2024 . The New York Times.

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