Concern over rise in suicide attempts among young women

A fifth of females aged 17 to 19 have self-harmed or tried to kill themselves, official figures show

A fifth of girls aged 17-19 and one in 10 boys the same age have self-harmed or tried to kill themselves, the biggest research into young people’s mental health for 13 years has found.

Experts said the figures were “deeply worrying” and raised serious questions about the damage that social media, pressures to look good, and sexual violence were doing to the mental welfare of young women in England.

Related: Mental health disorders on rise among children

Related: What is happening with children’s mental health?

Related: 'I felt so worthless': two teenagers on their mental health struggles

Disorders were much more common among boys than girls from the age of two to 10; they then equalise among 11 to 16-year-olds, before being much more widespread among girls (23.9%) than boys (10.3%) aged 17 to 19.

London has the lowest rate of mental disorders in young people at 9%, while the East of England has the highest at 15.6%.

About 15% of white British children have a disorder – the highest proportion – while Asian/Asian British young people have the lowest incidence at 5.2%.

About 35% of the quarter of the 9,117 participants who identified as non-heterosexual had a mental health disorder, compared with 13.2% of those who identified as heterosexual.

Continue reading...

from Children | The Guardian https://ift.tt/2PL0LzC