Family and other caregivers can play an important role in improving mental health in youth, a new advisory says.
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The nation’s youth are facing a serious mental health crisis, the U.S. surgeon general warned in December.
In an official advisory, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, highlighted the urgent need to address the youth mental health crisis, calling for a “swift and coordinated response.”
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, young people were experiencing worsening mental health, with the share of U.S. high school students reporting chronic feelings of sadness or hopelessness increasing 40% between 2009 and 2019. Suicidal behaviors have been rising, too, the advisory said.
“Mental health challenges in children, adolescents and young adults are real and widespread,” Murthy said in a news release. “The COVID-19 pandemic further altered their experiences at home, school and in the community, and the effect on their mental health has been devastating.”
Between 2007 and 2018, suicide rates among U.S. youth ages 10 to 24 increased by 57%, the advisory said, and early data show more than 6,600 suicides in that age group in 2020. The pandemic and its disruptions to school and social services exacerbated the problem. The advisory pointed to early clinical data showing that U.S. emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts in early 2021 were 51% higher for adolescent girls and 4% higher for adolescent boys compared to the same period in 2019.
Murthy shared recommendations to address the youth mental health crisis, including supporting mental health in educational and child care settings and increasing timely data collection and research on youth mental health, such as the impact of technology.
The advisory also details what young people can do to improve their mental health, and the roles of family, caregivers, educators, health providers, media organizations, local governments, employers and social media companies.
For example, the advisory calls on technology companies to “step up and take responsibility” for creating safe digital spaces for youth and be transparent with data so independent researchers can study the impacts to young people’s well-being.
“To be sure, this isn’t an issue we can fix overnight or with a single prescription,” Murthy said in the advisory. “Ensuring healthy children and families will take an all-of-society effort, including policy, institutional and individual changes in how we view and prioritize mental health.”
For more information on the “Surgeon General’s Advisory on Protecting Youth Mental Health,” visit the www.surgeongeneral.gov.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
