Anxiety, self harm and eating disorders are now ‘part and parcel of growing up’ a leading expert warns at the launch of a new report highlighting the scale of mental illness among youngsters.
The analysis, released last week, reveals up to one in five 13-14 year olds has a probable eating disorder, and one in six 12-15 year olds self harmed in the last 12 months. Self harm is the “strongest predictor of death by suicide,” the report notes.
Disturbingly the study also shows the average age for mental health disorders to start is just five and a half years old.
The analysis, among the most comprehensive of its kind, examined an array of health, education and social care records.
It shows child mental health referrals have tripled since the 2017 – 2018 reaching almost a million last year – to 949,000 – and accounting for almost 10 percent of all children in England.
It also showed 18 percent of children aged 7-to-16, and 22 percent of young people aged 17-to-24 has a probable mental health illness. This is a rise from one in 9 children – in the same age groups – before the pandemic.
The study, published by the child focused think tank, the Centre for Young Lives, and the policy research group, Child of the North, also throws a spotlight on the profound ramifications of the child mental health crisis. Of the 7-16 year olds with mental health problems, 72 percent experience sleep problems and 13 percent are recorded as missing 15 or more days of school.
Yet the study also shows many children are not getting the support they need.
The report states: “the children’s mental health system is blighted by chronic waiting lists and a postcode lottery of provision, and thousands of children and young people continue to struggle without support.”
It states over 32,000 children waited over two years for help at the end of 2022/3 and that up to a third of referrals to child mental health services are cancelled before treatment begins due to lack of capacity.
Anne Longfield, Executive Chair of the Centre for Young Lives, and former Children’s Commissioner said: “Poor mental health has become part and parcel of growing up for too many children and young people. This report shows the tidal wave of need that has been growing over the past decade and skyrocketed during the pandemic. Services are buckling under the pressure and cannot keep up. This is going in a dangerous direction for the future.”
She added: “I have heard so many heartbreaking stories of the lengths children and parents have gone to get support – including, sadly, suicide attempts – but we still seem a long way away from providing the prevention, early help, and treatment that every young person with mental health problems needs.”
The report “Improving mental health and wellbeing with and through educational settings”, calls on the government to take urgent steps to improve the mental health of children by focusing on schools.
It calls for widening Mental Health Support Teams to all schools, new ‘one-stop-shop’ hubs for parents and children to find local support, and national roll out of local wellbeing surveys to track ‘emotional temperature’ of school children.
Anne Longfield added: “Schools have a crucial role to play in supporting children’s mental health and wellbeing. Yet half of the school age children in England – four million children – will not have access to Mental Health Support Teams under current plans. We need to rocket-boost support in schools if we hope to bring down the numbers of children who are struggling with mental health problems.”
Dr Camilla Kingdon, former President of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health said: “Sadly nearly 50 percent of lifetime mental health conditions are established by 14 years. We have a crucial window of opportunity to intervene to support children with mental health problems. We cannot let these children slip through the system without help.”
Professor Mark Mon Williams, co-editor of the report said: “There is no better measure of the health of a nation than the mental wellbeing of its children and young people. The statistics on mental health in children are truly heartbreaking and a national scandal that will cost us dearly in the long term if we don’t start taking it seriously.”