Self harm and anxiety ‘now part of growing up’
ANXIETY, self harm and eating disorders are now “part and parcel of growing up”, a leading expert warns.
A report highlighting the scale of mental illness among youngsters reveals up to one in five 13 to 14-year-olds has a probable eating disorder, and one in six of those aged 12 to 15 have self harmed in the last 12 months.
Disturbingly, the study also shows the average age for mental health disorders to begin is just five-and-a-half years old.
The analysis examined an array of health, education and socialcare records. It shows child mental health referrals have tripled to 949,000 since 2017-18, accounting for almost 10 per cent of all children in England.
It also shows 18 per cent of children aged seven to 16, and 22 per cent of young people aged 17 to 24 has a probable mental health illness, up from one in nine youngsters before the pandemic.
The study, published by the
Centre for Young Lives think tank and policy research group Child of the North, also throws a spotlight on the ramifications of the child mental-health crisis.
Of the seven to 16-year-olds with mental health problems, 72 per cent experience sleep issues and 13 per cent miss 15 or more days of school. The study also shows many children are not getting the support they need.
“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,” the study says.
More than 32,000 children waited over two years for help at the end of 2022-23 and a third of referrals to child mental health services were cancelled before treatment began 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 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. 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 from providing the prevention, early help and treatment every young person with mental health problems needs.”
The report calls on the Government to take urgent steps by focusing on schools, and for a widening of mental health support teams, new hubs for parents and children to find support, and a national roll-out of local wellbeing surveys to track the “emotional temperature” of youngsters.
Professor Mark Mon-williams, one of the report’s editors, said: “There is no better measure of the health of a nation than the mental wellbeing of its children. The statistics are truly heartbreaking and a scandal that will cost us dearly in the long term if we don’t start taking it seriously.”
‘Scandal will cost us dearly’