The influences that have been found to increase the likelihood that children will experience mental health problems are known as risk factors. Some of the influences include children’s physical, social and emotional development, family circumstances, sense of belonging to school, and access to resources and support services.
The idea that certain risk factors make it more likely that children will experience poor mental health is based on research findings that show how frequently, and under what conditions, children’s mental health difficulties occur. Knowing what kinds of factors put children at risk of mental health difficulties helps health experts plan and develop the kinds of support and resources needed to be able to intervene early to improve children’s mental health (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). It also helps to guide efforts to prevent mental health problems developing.
Some of the risk factors include drugs and poverty. For example drug exposed infants are subject to a variety of risks including decreased birth weight, head size, and length among infants born at 33 weeks or more. When these children reach preschool and elementary school they present various academic, cognitive and behavior issues for teachers. Their cognitive, social and emotional skills are inconsistent with developmental levels. Their cognitive or behavior deficiencies are evidenced in learning, impulse control, communication, social cues or perception, memory, poor
Being the child of a parent who has a mental illness involves considerable risk to the child’s secure attachment and long-term mental health. Parental mental health concerns place children at a significantly greater risk of lower social, psychological and physical health than children in families not affected by mental illness. (Mayberry et al, 2005).
It not easy to determine how many people suffer from mental illness. This is due to the changing definitions of mental illness and problems classifying, diagnosing, and reporting mental disorders. There are social stigmas attached to mental illness, such as being labeled "crazy," being treated as a danger to others, and being denied jobs or health insurance coverage. These negative connotations keep many sufferers from seeking help, and many of those in treatment do not reveal it on surveys. Some patients do not realize that their symptoms are caused by mental disorders. Even though more is being learned about how the brain works a lot of information has still yet to be discovered, thus mental health professionals must continually reevaluate how mental illnesses are defined and diagnosed. The Surgeon General 's report estimated that roughly 20% of the United States population was affected by mental disorders and that 15% use some type of mental health service every year. Community surveys estimate about 30% of the adult population in the United States suffer from mental disorders.
A study on the child’s mental health involves the mental functioning and the way a child behaves and responds to some instances of life. The study is done by exploring the physiological process and the neurology of a child. The key areas of study include; concentration, mind functioning, emotions, acuity, character and cognition. There are two processes in a child’s development that needs the attention of the parents; physical and the mental development. This is the time that the parent can be able to determine a child’s with mental or physical challenge. The psychology of the child depends on the development of the mind as well as genetic psychology. Genetic psychology is the study of how factors that affect the genetics can
Challenges due to poverty could be addressed by providing financial assistance, food, and clothing. Time spent with parents is essential when dealing with children who have behavioral issues because parents or guardians may not have the funds or time to spend with their children due to other obligations needed to support the family. Parents and guardians play a major role in helping children grow and develop to their fullest potential. As children grow, they depend on their parents or guardians for basic needs and support such as food, shelter, education, protection, and care. During their life difficulties and times of crisis, they depend on family for guidance. Mental disorders in childhood and adolescence can
American Pediatrics found 35-40% of Illinois children are likely to have mental health concern or behavioral issues.
These children have been in an unstable environment, which can affect their ability to fully participate in society. Research shows that children have a high rate of physical development and mental health problems. They often have many mental and medical heath problems that are not helped. Pediatricians can serve to help make sure each child’s conditions and needs are
Mental Health is a common topic in all agenda’s in the United States. It is currently looked at broadly across all segments of health; in fact, over the years there have been multiple approaches to addressing the needs of the population affected by lack of mental health or that have prominent mental health disorders. Over the past century the United States has been especially concerned about the mental health problems of our children and youth (Tuma, 1989). Worldwide 10-20% of children and adolescents experience mental disorders (World Health Organization [WHO], 2014). This topic has been so important to the extent that as early as 1909, the white house conference on children recommended new programs to care for mentally disturbed children
Many of these children are developmental delayed, delinquents, and have mental health problems (Chow, Mettrick, Stephan, & Von Waldner, 2014). They may also suffer from emotional and behavioral problems and often have problems with aggression and controlling their temper
Have you ever wondered why states spend roughly one billion dollars a year on children (20 and under) who are attempting suicide or have attempted suicide (Nami, 2010)? That is due to the thousands of children who live their daily lives with an undiagnosed mental disorder. What is children’s mental health? Children’s mental health is defined as growing emotionally while developing healthful social skills and learning how to deal with problems (CDC, 2013). Some mental disorders found in children include: mood and anxiety disorders, behavior disorders, Autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), schizophrenia, and substance use disorder. ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder, is the most common disorder of children
Mental health affects the cognitive, emotional, and social development of an individual. These conditions can be short term or can continue for the life span of the person. Mental disorders affect children from different ethnicity, races, and ages. The cause of most mental disorders is not known, but heredity, biology, psychological trauma, and environmental stress are all factors (www.webmd.com). Treatment for mental health disorders includes medication and behavior therapy. Early diagnosis and prevention is encouraged; the lack of such can lead to other issues in “school, home, and in relationship forming.” It can also begin to” interfere with healthy development and continue into adulthood” (www.cdc.gov).
These health-screening tests are a short 10-minute test that can detect if a student is at risk, and if so the test can refer them to acquire additional help. In the Wisconsin school district from 2005-2009, 2,500 students have gone through the screening system. Of those 2,500 students, 500 of them identifying as at risk for depression. Out of the 500 students that had been identified as at risk for depression or other mental illness, about 370 students had not been receiving any type of treatment prior to the test. Within 90 days after testing, three-quarters of the students that had not been receiving treatments visited a mental health facility at least once (Landro,
Educating the public on mental health is necessary be teach community members the importance of mental health and to remove the stigma and stereotypical image of weakness or extreme violent behavior as the only manifestation of mental illness. Respectively it is necessary for health care providers to become more knowledgeable in the assessment and management of psychiatric conditions to meet the needs of the community and deliver appropriate early identification of concerns and provide referrals for continuing care. This need for training and additional education does not stop short at the medical field, but extends in to the area of educational field, more directly schools. The mental health status of children in the school setting has also been overlooked. In spite of the understanding that student illness can result in difficulty learning in class, mental health symptoms go unaddressed. Failing to address mental health issues in children may result in impairments that will extend beyond academic struggles and continue well into adulthood. School personnel need additional training in making appropriate referrals for mental health evaluations to avoid a continuous cycle of identifying concerns without seeking
Before the age of eighteen nearly a fourth of all young persons will deal with mental illness (Shirk and Jungbluth 217). Only around a third of these children will receive professional treatment (United States Public Health Service qtd. in Shirk and Jungbluth 222). Because of the risk of suicide in mentally ill young people, it is crucial that mental health services are readily available to our youth in school settings. Therefore, schools should administer mandatory mental health screenings because mental illness often affects academic performance, and the majority of young persons that commit suicide have a treatable illness.
It is becoming more recognized and well- known around the world that the mental well-being of one’s parents largely affects the development and or the emotional and mental states of oneself. Research is becoming much more widespread and researchers could make important recommendations on how to intervene in the lives of children with parents suffering from mental illness to best prevent harm to their health and well-being as they grow. It has been found that the most common mental illnesses among people of child-bearing age are anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. Most policy however deals with the care of children whose parents must be hospitalized due to their conditions. Much of the current research though aims to show that even those which do not require extreme medical intervention can impact children physically, emotionally, socially, cognitively, etcetera.
The mental health of adolescents is fairly considered to be one of the major prerequisites of the country 's sustainable development in economics, culture, and social life. Subsequently, the easy and nondiscriminatory access to the psychological treatment appears to be a matter of top priority for the federal government. Nevertheless, the recent statistical data indicates the substantial problems in terms of providing the adolescents with the necessary medical support. In accordance with the US Department of Health & Human Services, in 2014, less than 50% of the country 's adolescent population were provided with a required treatment (US Department of Health & Human Services). Moreover, the data on the minorities ' access to the mental health treatment demonstrates that, for instance, African-Americans are twice as likely as whites to be prescribed a treatment from schizophrenia (American Psychological Association). Undoubtedly, such a trend may be primarily explained by the insufficient efforts of both federal and local health care institutions in terms of providing the minorities ' representatives with the necessary psychological treatment. Consequently, in order to understand comprehensively the problem of the adolescent mental health in the US, it is necessary to define the issue-related objective and subjective concerns as well as to analyze the peculiarities of a potential corrective to the