Mental Health Issues In Adolescence

Introduction

Adolescence is a transition time of human development that occurs between the ages of 11 and 20 years. They are forced to face their own physical, cognitive, and emotional changes which can be very stressful to handle. Because these fraught changes are quite difficult to cope with, this stage of development is at a high risk of mental health disorders. Many mental health disorders begin in adolescence, and if they are not properly treated, they will persist into adulthood (1). According to The Second Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, almost one in seven (13.9%) 4-17 year-olds were assessed as having mental disorders in the previous 12 months. The same survey found that adolescents were almost three times more likely to experience a severe mental disorder compared with children with mental health

The common mental health disorders to develop in adolescence are eating disorders (EDs). EDs are fatal psychological illnesses that frequently underdiagnosed and often treated incorrectly. These disorders usually occur in people with low self-esteem, lack of self-respect, and body dissatisfaction (3). In Australia, a survey found that low weight problem eating behaviors (underweight on the age-adjusted BMI and practicing weight-controlling behaviors) were reported by 1.1% of 11-17 year-olds while binge eating and purging were reported by 1.3% of 11-17 year-olds (2). EDs in children and adolescents are extensive and have solemn medical and psychological consequences (4). These disorders, especially anorexia nervosa (AN), usually undertake in adolescence and continue into adulthood and disrupt the growth and