Thursday, December 09, 2004

Children's mental health problems seen as 'epidemic'
Lead story in a special section in the latest APA Monitor - "One in five children and teens suffers from mental health problems, and the number is growing. The World Health Organization estimates that by 2020, neuropsychiatric disorders in children will swell by 50 percent compared with other health-related problems, making them one of the five leading causes of childhood illness, disability and death. While it is unclear exactly why the numbers are rising so rapidly, many experts believe it is related to increased stress in children and families and better diagnosis of existing problems. Yet, despite the fact that these conditions exact heavy tolls on the young--including substance abuse, academic failure, criminal involvement and suicide--less than half receive treatment, according to several recent reports, including those by a 2003 APA task force and a recent presidential subcommittee on children's mental health. Worse yet, only 20 percent get the right kind of treatment, the reports note. See also, in the same issue, Should our children be taking psychotropics?, What's new in children's mental health, Effective education for autism and A dilemma of definition.