Mental illness increasing in children in line with propserity

Mental illness in children is increasing in line with economic prosperity - but only one in four affected children is receiving treatment, a conference heard yesterday.

Prof Michael Fitzgerald, chairman of the Irish Association of Suicidology (IAS), told a conference on suicide prevention in schools that up to 7 per cent of children are depressed.

Many will have repeat episodes of depression as they get older. One study found that 50 per cent of children treated for depression were depressed five years later. Prof Fitzgerald said that childhood depression was a chronic illness yet could sometimes be missed in schools because, while a child might be having suicidal thoughts in the classroom, if he is withdrawn and not causing a disturbance he may not be noticed.

Research in one primary school found that 15 per cent of boys thought that life was not worth living. Studies have also shown that young people who make one suicide attempt will do so again and are more likely to succeed the second time.

Prof Fitzgerald said that one study of 26 people who had attempted suicide found that eight years later two had died and 19 per cent had made another suicide attempt. He said that 75 per cent of depressed children did not receive professional help but if clinics were located within school settings more children would get access to treatment. Geraldine Hartnett, from the Aislinn Treatment Centre in Kilkenny, which caters for adolescents with drug and alcohol addictions, told the IAS conference that 95 per cent of young people treated at the centre had tried suicide a minimum of three times. She told delegates that while the centre accommodates 15- to 21-year-olds, many start abusing drink and drugs at the age of 13.

Ms Hartnett, co-ordinator of the family support programme in the centre, said that there was a huge secret subculture which parents were unaware of but which children were tapping into from the age of 11 or 12. Prof Fitzgerald told delegates that mental illness among children and teenagers had increased since the second World War. While there were sometimes genetic factors, other triggers included bullying, domestic violence, sexual abuse, family breakdown and alcohol or drugs.

"As the country gets wealthier, the number of children with these problems gets higher," he said. "The Celtic Tiger is not particularly good for children even if it is good for parents allowing them to buy homes in foreign countries". The conference heard that many children find it easier to tell their peers than an adult if they are sexually abused. In most instances they get an appropriate response from friends who urge them to "tell".

Clinical psychologist Rosaleen McElvaney, who is doing a PhD on the disclosure by children of sexual abuse, said some children don't confide in their parents precisely because they are so close to them and want to spare them from the trauma. Asking "is anything wrong" could help an abused child, and while they might not tell at the time, it could start a process making it easier to divulge the abuse in the future.