Half of mental health disorders arise in adolescence

Half of mental health disorders arise before the age of 14, but most cases are not detected or treated until much later, according to the latest data from the World Health Organization.

Half of mental health disorders arise in adolescence. Image credit: Leifern/Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The last resource, which includes online interventions, could be particularly appropriate, the WHO said, due to the stigma attached to mental health issues, which may prevent some young adults from seeking help.

Stigma is part of the reason why mental health services are not well developed in many countries, the report said. However, it added that mental health interventions for young people must be carefully planned to “ensure that they are accepted by them and that they will be useful”.

“If these disorders are left untreated, they can extend into adult life, thus impacting educational attainment, employment, relationships and even parenting,” warned Tarun Dua, a mental health adviser at the WHO.

The WHO has provided recommendations and examples of activities that can help detect and treat such disorders early. These include self-guided or group psychological interventions, training for families and school staff, community mental health programmes and initiatives to prevent substance abuse, self-harm and suicide.

The report found that self-harm is the second most common cause of death for girls aged 15-19, and the third most common for boys of that age range.

The switch from childhood to adolescence brought about neurobiological, psychological and neuro-adaptive changes, which happen at the same time as important physical and hormonal transformations. He explained that the systems to regulate emotions are not fully mature in adolescents, making them more vulnerable to external and internal stimuli.

This increases if they have experienced negative situations such as sexual abuse, famine, wars and poverty early on.

The WHO report recommends making the environments for adolescents safer, especially if they live in areas already stressed by conflict, poverty or crime. This could include talking about mental health issues, training teachers to spot signs of depression and creating intervention programmes for vulnerable young adults. (SciDev.Net)

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