Spring 2018
April’s Topic of the Month: Children's Mental Health
by Casey Saylor
The past quarter has brought two accomplishments for the ASP Distorted Perceptions Campaign: a brand new website (https://www.distortedperceptions.org/- check it out!) and the coordinated kick-off of our online Topic of the Month series. At the beginning of every month, hop onto the new website for fresh resources that look at mental health and addiction experiences through a variety of lenses. We hope you’ll enjoy reading through, reflecting on, and sharing these pieces as much as we enjoyed scouring the interwebs to find them!
In acknowledgement of National Child Abuse Prevention Month and National Love Our Children Day, April’s Topic of the Month looks at behavioral health through the lens of childhood experiences. How prevalent are mental health issues in school-aged children? What do children’s behavioral health experiences look like? And how does stigma interact with these experiences? To pique your interest, we’ll lay out some of the information we found. But please know that the videos, articles, and websites are much more powerful when you experience them yourself, so be sure to check out our online post!
Child Mind Institute’s 2016 Children’s Mental Health Report identifies mental health disorders as the “most common health issues faced by our nation’s school-aged children… [with] one in five children suffer[ing] from a mental health or learning disorder, and 80% of chronic mental disorders begin[ning] in childhood.” The report estimates that mental health disorders in young people are just as prevalent as they are in adults. Since childhood and adolescence contain critical periods of educational, emotional and social development, mental health disorders have the potential to impact not only children’s daily lives, but also their long-term growth and development (2016).
Stigma plays an undeniable role in the behavioral health experiences of children. In a 2010 study by Case Western Reserve University, 90% of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 who were taking medications for mental illness reported experiencing stigma. Attitudes shown by parents and schools were reported to either “protect against or magnify the youth’s feelings of being different or ashamed that they have a mental illness” (Finley, 2010). Another study talked to teens and their parents about depression, with many teens citing stigma as the primary reason for not seeking treatment: specifically, concerns about negative reactions from family members (McBride, 2009).
In Teen Mental Health.Org’s First Person Experience video series, Connor shares about his experience in high school. “For me, OCD came with a lot of stress. I stopped going to school entirely,” he says. “I’ve experienced [stigma] on a number of levels. I’ve been referred to as “one of those people” a number of times.” For Connor, it would have been helpful to have his mental illness identified and understood in the classroom. “If a teacher were able to spot someone with an anxiety disorder, being knowledgeable about that disorder would be extremely helpful,” he says (Teen Mental Health.Org, 2013b). Amy shares similar experiences of stigma and isolation when she discusses her history of anorexia with Teen Mental Health.Org. “I’ve lost too many friends because of all this. Running away from me wasn’t the answer,” she says. “Slowly integrating back into the real world is what got me better” (2013a).
A 2006 HealthStyles Survey identified prevalent ideas of discrimination and misconceptions about people with mental illness among youth and young adults. In a survey of youth ages 18 to 24, “less than half (44.3 percent) believe that someone with a mental illness can be successful at work; only slightly more than half (55.2 percent) believe that treatment can help people with mental illnesses lead normal lives; and only around 26.9 percent believe that a person with mental illness can eventually recover” (youth. gov, n.d.). What can schools do to address the stigma of mental health among children? A 2017 study of anti-stigma interventions with 6th-grade students suggests that classAnother study talked to teens and their parents about depression, with many teens citing stigma as the primary reason for not seeking treatment: specifically, concerns about negative reactions from family members (McBride, 2009). Consumer Network News s Volume 25, Number 1 s Spring 2018 Page 15 room-based interventions may be a promising answer. “[A three-day curriculum] increased recognition of mental illness, improved attitudes about help-seeking, and increased optimism about the effectiveness of treatment,” the study reports. “It also improved attitudes regarding being friends or neighbors with someone with mental illness” (American Psychiatric Association, 2017).
There are also steps we can take to address stigma in a less formal setting, as parents, mentors, and role models. In Julie Bayer and Josh Salzman’s short film Release, seventh grade students describe some of the things that cause them anxiety on a daily basis. The list includes homework, bullying, texting, due dates, busy schedules, feeling like they need to be perfect, and not knowing how to cope. (2016) Third grade student Madison has a couple of suggestions for anyone trying to cope with their feelings. “Saying things like crazy, dumb, and crybaby doesn’t help,” she says. “Talking about my feelings helps… I like it when my parents are excited about who I am and what I do” (Glimpse Into a Child’s Life, 2017).
Despite the prevalence of mental health experiences among children, more research is needed on their experiences of stigma and its consequences. Children with behavioral health issues are often dually stigmatized, impacting their credibility "you’re not depressed, you’re just a teenager" and resulting in their needs not being met. There are many great efforts going on to address stigma against this population, but it’s also important for us to continue looking at our own individual thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors around children’s mental health.
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2017, April 6). Targeting pre-teens to fight mental health stigma. Retreived from https:// www.psychiatry.org/news-room/apa-blogs/apa-blog/2017/04/ targeting-pre-teens-to-fight-mental-health-stigma
Bayer, J. (Producer) & Salzman, J. (Cinematographer). (2016, Aug 23). Release [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=300&v=GVWRvVH5gBQ Child Mind Institute (2016). 2016 Children’s Mental Health Report. Retrieved from https://childmind.org/report/2016-childrens-mental-health-report/
Finley, Kimyette. (2010, May 25). Adolescents cope with mental illness stigmas, report CWRU researchers. Retrieved from http:// blog.case.edu/case-news/2010/05/25/mentalillnessstudy
Glimpse Into a Child’s Life. (2017, Jan 12). Kids talk about mental wellness (health). [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=7jpIzyhEqw8
TeenMentalHealth.Org. (2013, July 4). First person experience: Amy [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymqo4uSh_k&feature=youtu.be
TeenMentalHealth.Org. (2013, July 4). First person experience: Connor [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=72W364gPrxc&feature=youtu.be
McBride, Hugh C. (2009). Stigma keeps many teens from getting mental health treatment. Retrieved from https://www.crchealth. com/troubled-teenagers/stigma-teens-mental-health-treatment/
Youth.gov. (n.d.). Attitudes & discrimination. Retrieved from https://youth.gov/youth-topics/youth-mental-health/role-stigma