14% of adolescents getting the pandemic blues: Poll

NEW DELHI: With restricted movement, school closures, increase in stress, anxiety, screen time and impact of digital technologies on young minds, there is wide concern about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on mental health. Around 14% of 15 to 24-year-olds in India are reporting often feeling depressed or having little interest in doing things, a new report by Unicef shows.

“There is wide concern about the impact of the pandemic on mental health. Research indicates some increases in stress and anxiety among children and adolescents. The mental health of caregivers, especially young mothers, is also a concern,” the report said.

Only 41% of young people in India said it is good to seek support for mental health problems, compared to an average of 83% across 21 countries surveyed. Globally, it is estimated that over 13% of adolescents aged 10-19 live with a diagnosed mental disorder as defined by the World Health Organisation. This represents 86 million adolescents aged 15-19 years and 80 million adolescents aged 10-14 years with mental disorder.

Anxiety and depression make up about 40% of these diagnosed mental disorders. Other disorders include attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, conduct disorder, intellectual disability, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, autism, schizophrenia and a group of personality disorders.

The report — “The State of the World’s Children 2021; On My Mind: promoting, protecting and caring for children’s mental health”, — released by health minister Mansukh Mandaviya underlined the role of parenting and family support along with need for higher investments and workforce development to minimise risk of mental health disorders.

However, the report highlights that not all children were affected equally. “Children and adolescents who faced the greatest mental health risks came from disadvantaged families, had pre-existing mental health conditions or a history of adverse childhood experiences,” it said.

There was a difference in response between boys and girls also. While girls were at greater risk of depressive symptoms, anxiety and behaviour issues, boys were at greater risk of substance abuse.