📺 Missed @vsmacdonald's report on @Channel4News tonight about a new study of children and young people's mental health? Don't worry, here's what the authors @DrDougalH, Jacqueline Pitchforth, Katie Fahy, @Tamsin_J_Ford, @mirandarwolpert and @russellviner found out ⬇ THREAD
The researchers analysed data from:
📌 140,830 participants aged between 4-24
📌 in 36 national surveys in England, Scotland and Wales
📋 The surveys asked children and young people (and parents of children aged 4-12) whether they had a long standing mental health condition
📌 140,830 participants aged between 4-24
📌 in 36 national surveys in England, Scotland and Wales
📋 The surveys asked children and young people (and parents of children aged 4-12) whether they had a long standing mental health condition
📈 The authors found a 6x increase in how many children and young people in England reported having a long-standing mental health condition between 1995 - 2014
☝ This means almost 1 in 20 children and young people in England reported having a mental health condition in 2014
☝ This means almost 1 in 20 children and young people in England reported having a mental health condition in 2014
🧩 So what about Scotland and Wales? Well, from 2008 there was comparable data allowing the authors to properly compare the mental health of children and young people in England, Scotland 🏴 and Wales 🏴
The biggest increases over time were in young people in England aged 16-24 - who were 10x more likely to report a longstanding mental health condition in 2014 than in 1995.
Also, young boys aged 4-12 were more likely to report a long standing mental health condition than girls
Also, young boys aged 4-12 were more likely to report a long standing mental health condition than girls
📉 Interestingly, the same surveys showed that while mental health conditions were on the rise, long term physical conditions had decreased over time 🦵🦴♥
The good news is that the authors think some of the striking rise is down to better awareness and reduced stigma in talking about mental health. But it also suggests we’re not even close to meeting children and young people’s need for mental health support 🧠
🤔 So, what else could be behind this increase and what can we do about it? Lead author @DrDougalH has written a blog for us on why it is time to take action on children and young people’s mental health > nuffieldtrust.org.uk/news-item/mind…
📑 Read the full study in the Psychological Medicine journal here > cambridge.org/core/journals/…
