The first study by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on the psychological health of young Americans shows that children aged 3 to 17 are not immune to mental disorders. Anxiety, depression attention deficit: this study carried out between 2005 and 2011 shows that young people are not better off than their elders and 1 in 5 children suffer from a mental disorder.
Mental disorders are defined as “serious deviations in the expected development of cognitive, social and emotional functions”. They result in delays in learning at school, in the ability to make friends and later in the ability to build relationships in adulthood.
According to the results of this study, attention deficit (better known under the name of hyperactivity) is the most frequently diagnosed disorder (6.8% of minors) followed by behavioral disorders (3.5%), anxiety (3%), depression (2.1%) and autism ( 1.1%). According to Dr Ruth Perou, who led this study for the CDC, “This survey is meant to show that children’s mental health is a major health issue. Parents must be able to talk to their doctor about the way their child behaves with other children or learns at school, ”insists the doctor.
According to the World Health Organization, mental disorders are expected to increase by 50% in 2020, becoming, internationally, one of the five main causes of morbidity in children.
In France, an Insem report drawn up at the request of the National Health Insurance Fund, shows that around 12% of children suffer from mental disorders that have repercussions on their daily life and hamper their learning at school.
