Sane: Report is concerning
Thursday, 24 Apr 2008 11:25
Mental health problems in the young need to be identified and treated at the earliest stage possible, the mental health charity Sane has said.
Its advice follows a report from the Children's Society which revealed a worrying picture of children's health.
The report found that more than a quarter of children aged 14 to 16 say they often feel depressed and a separate online vote by CBBC Newsround released with the study revealed that 22 per cent said they felt bad or really bad about their health.
Sane chief executive Marjorie Wallace said studies such as this are "important" as it provides "a wide-scale examination of the factors influencing young peoples' mental health and wellbeing".
"We know that one in ten young people have a mental disorder of some kind and it is concerning that over a quarter of young people in this survey say they often feel depressed," she added.
"It is vital that all children and young people with mental health problems are identified and treated from the earliest stage. It is this group that is most at risk of life-long and life-threatening psychiatric disorders - yet families often struggle to get the help they need."
