Mental Health Facts: CHILDREN & TEENS
Fact: 1 in 5 children ages 13-18 have, or will have a serious mental illness.
20% of youth ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition
11% of youth have a mood disorder
10% of youth have a behavior or conduct disorder
8% of youth have an anxiety disorder
Impact
50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24.
10 yrs: The average delay between onset of symptoms and intervention is 8-10 years.
37% of students with a mental health condition age 14 and older drop out of school—the highest dropout rate of any disability group.
70% of youth in state and local juvenile justice systems have a mental illness.
Suicide
3rd: Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death in youth ages 10-24.
90% of those who died by suicide had an underlying mental illness.
Warning Signs
– Feeling very sad or withdrawn for more than 2 weeks.
– Trying to harm or kill oneself or making plans to do so.
– Out-of-control, risk-taking behaviors.
– Sudden overwhelming fear for no reason.
4 Things Parents Can Do
– Talk with your pediatrician
– Get a referral to a mental health specialist
– Work with the school
– Connect with other families
Which statements are in line with the text?
(1) Mental health condition has no impact on the completion of study.
(2) The warning signs help parents to identify their children mental health.
(3) Collaboration of family and school is needed to handle the mental illness.
(4) An anxiety disorder is the first leading mental illness of youth ages 13-18.