Summary on lecture Psychology in School Mental health and Wellbeing, module Understanding Mental Health, course Psychology. The notes are summarised in preparation for an end of semester MCQ test. I passed the test with 1st (A+).
W12
Psychology in Schools Mental Health and Wellbeing
Mental health
• Medical term that makes people uncomfortable – not seen as a comparable term to
‘physical health’
• Suggests clinics and drug treatments
• Despite promotional campaigns, stigma is still a big issue
• In children, in particular, often confused with learning difficulties or neuro-
developmental differences
• Reluctance of some adults to accept that children can be affected by mental health
problems
• Assumption that ‘mental health disorders’ = bad behaviour in children
• Hard for children’s voices to be heard as service users
Emotional health and wellbeing
• Preferred term in schools – seems gentler
• Also referred to as ‘social and emotional’ skills or learning or
development/character/resilience etc.
• Can be confused with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities and with
safeguarding issues
• Perhaps masks a reluctance to see children as being susceptible to ‘mental health’
problems or assumes it is a developmental phase that they will grow out of
• Children with serious problems seen as having ‘Emotional and Behavioural
Difficulties’
• Current official terminology is ‘SEMH – social, emotional and mental health’ issues
UK figures
• Surveys carried out in 1999 with follow up in 2004 across UK showed prevalence and
persistence of mental health problems in children
, • 2017 English survey (NHS Digital): 9,117 children aged 2-19 (parental report for
younger children) – data available here http://digital.nhs.uk/pubs/mhcypsurvey17
• One in eight children (12.8%) had one diagnosable disorder, up from one in ten from
2004, while one in 20 (5%) had two disorders, measured using standard ICD
diagnostic criteria
• Other UK countries expected to have similar figures
• In line/bit worse than UN figures generally
UK figures post Covid
Survey carried out in England in 2021 showed:
• Number of cases had risen to one in six children
• 39.2% of 6-16 year olds experienced deterioration in their mental health, and 52.5%
of 17-23 year olds (21.8% and 15.2% respectively experienced an improvement)
• Eating disorders in particular had jumped, from 6.7% to 13% in 11-16 year olds, and
from 44.6% to 58.2% in 17-19 year olds
• Sleep disturbance was around a quarter in 6-10 year olds, a third in 11-16 year olds
and over half of 17-23 year olds
Four broad categories of childhood disorders
• Emotional: anxiety, depression, mania, bipolar affective disorder. Affects 1 in 12
(8.1%) of children, girls (10%) worse than boys (6.2%), and anxiety (7.2%) more
common than depression (2.1%). Emotional disorders have increased since 2004,
while other types were stable
• Behavioural or conduct: affects 4.5% of children, boys (5.8%) more than girls (3.4%)
• Hyperactivity disorders: affects 1.6% of children, boys (2.6%) more than girls (0.6%)
• Other: 2.1% of children affected, with 1.2% ASD, 0.4% eating disorders and 0.8% tics
or other less common disorders
What increases the risk?
• Being female: emotional disorders, self-harm, body dysmorphic disorder more
common in girls. Worsens with age: 22.4% of 17-19 year old girls have an emotional
disorder compared to 7.9% of boys
• Non-heterosexual identity: 13.2% of heterosexuals had a disorder compared to
34.9% of non-heterosexuals
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