UK Teens' Mental Health In Sharp Decline

[Guest guest]

http://www.rense.com/general57/sharpo.htm

Teens' Mental Health In

Sharp Decline

By Sarah Womack

Social Affairs Correspondent

The Telegraph - UK

9-14-4

 

The number of 15-year-olds suffering from anxiety and depression has

increased by 70 per cent since the mid-1980s, according to a study.

 

It raises questions about the way children are being raised and the extent

to which the pressures of succeeding academically and the prospect of debt

are contributing to widespread unhappiness.

 

Experts say the rise in anxiety levels, and a decline in mental health,

cannot be explained by soaring divorce rates because comparable increases

were found in all types of family and across social classes.

 

The study, Time Trends in Adolescent Mental Health, to be published in the

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry in November, reflects increasing

concerns of parents and teachers about today's teenagers.

 

The mental health of teenagers has sharply declined in the past 25 years

while the chances of teenagers lying, stealing or being disobedient - rather

than being physically aggressive - have more than doubled.

 

Emotional problems were stable until 1986 when they shot up. Boys were more

likely to have behavioural problems than girls, who suffered more from

emotional problems.

 

The research was conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College

London, and the University of Manchester and looked at three generations of

15-year-olds, in 1974, 1986 and 1999, based on their parents' assessments.

 

It does not provide answers but suggests that the transition to secondary

school might be becoming more demanding while expectations of academic

achievement had risen.

 

It also points to the imbalance in time spent on school work compared to

leisure activities, with many children having few out-of-school pursuits.

Family members also spend little time together, while drugs and alcohol are

increasingly available to today's adolescents.

 

Ann Hagell, editor of the Journal of Adolescence, said anticipation of the

future was distressing for many teenagers. " Add to that the reduction of

employment levels of graduates, and at 15 or 16 there's a real struggle

ahead for five years over debt, " she said. " We have high expectations of

independence for our teenagers without giving them the means to achieve

that. "

 

John Coleman, director of the Trust for the Study of Adolescence, said: " The

changing nature of the family is central. Teenagers are affected by

instability of family life, which causes a lot of difficulty; it muddles up

roles and there is not the support for young people as previously. "

 

The Nuffield Foundation, which funded the research, said: " This is not a

trend which is being driven by a small number of kids who are getting worse,

but a much more widespread malaise.

 

" Britain has one of the lowest rates of youngsters staying in education past

16 and there is less of an emphasis on vocational education. In the US,

80-85 per cent of kids get a high school diploma. At the same time, high

schools have a range of after-school activities. Part of the role of the

school is the kind of socialisation that those activities generate. "

 

The findings precede two government initiatives - the Tomlinson report on

education for 14- to 19-year-olds and the Green Paper on youth - both of

which are intended to respond to mounting concerns about the behaviour of

young people.

 

Previous research has shown that by the age of 28, people with continuing

mental health problems have cost society up to 10 times more than those with

no problems. A significant proportion will have difficulties in

relationships, unstable employment histories, and become involved in crime.

 

© Copyright of Telegraph Group Limited 2004.

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/200

4/09/14/nteen14.xml & sSheet=/news/2004/09/14/ixhome.html