The article goes on to say that more than 5,000 teens in the US will commit suicide, and another 2,200 will die in drunken driving crashes. An estimated 38 percent of teens with clinical depression get treatment, and only 20 percent of those with mental illness get professional help. A major predictor of trouble, according to the study, was not race or economic background, but unstructured free time. Apparently, kids have the leisure to create their own stressful situations, which can lead to worse problems and mental illness. Time, then, is our worst enemy - for our kids who have too much of it, and for us as a global village, where the clock is winding down.
Many children have mental health problems that interfere with normal development and functioning.
In the United States, one in ten children and adolescents suffer from mental illness severe enough to cause some level of impairment. Yet, in any given year, it is estimated that about one in five children receive mental health services. Children and families are suffering because of missed opportunities for prevention and early identification, fragmented treatment services, and low priorities for resources. Post secondary outcomes are also poor, including multiple jobs, criminal behavior, and unemployment. The Report draws on the testimony of 300 presenters and participants who gathered in Washington DC under the Surgeon General s auspices in Sept 2000.