Sarah Harker APLAC 6th Richard Porritt April 19th, 2018 Mental Health in America Maintaining mental health and wellness is a rather complex task- and the possible problems associated with mental health can be rather debilitating depending on their severity. Mental health is described as including the emotional and behavioral areas of health and is crucial to a given child's well being. More over, mental health can vastly impact various areas of life including, personal relationships, work and school and physical health. The prevalence of mental health issues among the United States' children is vast and is seemingly increasing. Data from the 2005-2006 National Health Interview Survey indicated that about 8.3 million children …show more content…
These difficulties have been described to affect the child or parents in a variety of ways such as affecting the interaction with others, increasing home life difficulty, the child's learning ability or the child becomes perceived as a burden to the family. There are a wide variety of reasons a child is afflicted with emotional or behavioral problems such as genetics, poor health and socioeconomic status. However, the child's family income can exacerbate emotional or behavioral problems. Poor children suffer more from emotional or behavioral difficulties as compared to non-poor children. Brooks-Gunn and Duncan (1997) described that children from consistently poorer families are more likely to suffer from internalizing and externalizing behavior problems than children who had never been poor. Poverty, which affects both physical and mental health, will in turn affect the child's normal development resulting in lower IQ, learning disabilities, grade retention, and school dropout in older children. Despite their cause, all children suffering from behavioral difficulties are at risk for reduced academic achievement. Breslau et al. (2009) conducted a longitudinal study examining the effect of behavioral difficulties on academic success. Children were assessed for behavioral problems at age 6 and then reexamined at age 17 for academic success. …show more content…
Feingold. Feingold (1975) indicated that hyperactivity in children was linked to allergies to certain food additives and preservatives 8,12. As such, the Feingold diet, which eliminates said components, has been examined in children and its role in hyperactivity and ADHD. Diets rich in artificial food colorings and additives have been described to increase hyperactivity in children. One randomized, double- blinded, placebo controlled, cross over study indicated that such food additives do in fact increase the hyperactivity of both the three year old children group and the 8/9 year aged group
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Show MoreTolan, P. H., & Dodge, K. A. (2005). Children's mental health as a primary care and concern: a system for comprehensive support and service. American Psychologist, 60(6), 601.
Mental Health is a common topic in all agenda’s in the United States. It is currently looked at broadly across all segments of health; in fact, over the years there have been multiple approaches to addressing the needs of the population affected by lack of mental health or that have prominent mental health disorders. Over the past century the United States has been especially concerned about the mental health problems of our children and youth (Tuma, 1989). Worldwide 10-20% of children and adolescents experience mental disorders (World Health Organization [WHO], 2014). This topic has been so important to the extent that as early as 1909, the white house conference on children recommended new programs to care for mentally disturbed children (Tuma, 1989), but the process seems to continue to be in planning phases with some advancement in mental health policies for children. One hundred years later, the surgeon general national agenda for children’s health, the president’s new freedom commission on mental health and the American Psychological Association are all pushing efforts to address children’s mental health issues (Odar et al, 2013). More so, the stakeholders mentioned above agree on the fact that there is a large gap between the mental health needs of children and the supports and services that are available to meet those needs (Tolan and Dodge, 2005). However, in spite of many different approaches Tolan and Dodge (2005) state that “Children’s mental health continues to be neglected even with growing scientific evidence of the importance of mental health in children’s development” this is occurring specially within the primary developmental systems such as pediatric care and school, and of efficacy of interventions for chil...
An important change that needs to happen within mental health services is for service users to be involved in all aspects of their care. This is called a working partnership where information is shared, choices are given and decisions are made together. The Department of Health (1999) states that service users should be involved in the planning and delivery of the care they receive. Drawing from course materials and external research this essay will discuss why developing this working relationship is important. It will look at past and current service provision, discuss what happens in practice, consider what change needs to take place for a working partnership to be achieved and how this relationship can benefit both service user and practitioner. The essay will also discuss whether there might be resistance to the idea of this working partnership and how these barriers might be addressed so that this change can be implemented in practice.
Children raised in poverty display behaviors that are sometimes mistaken for emotional and behavioral disorders. Chi...
Mental Health is one of the most pressing issues facing young people in today’s society and the NHS is failing us. A staggering one in ten children and young people aged five to sixteen are affected by a mental health problem in the UK. This is despite the knowledge and awareness of mental health problems. According to the Mental Health Foundation, alarmingly 70% of young people who experience a mental health problem do not receive the appropriate support. The world would be outraged if this was the case for cancer suffers or broken bone victims. The emotional well-being of children and young people is just as important as their physical health. The early years of adulthood are decisive as the body and mind are quickly developing and day in day out young people are faced with new challenges. It is fundamental that
“Recent research consistently reports that persistent poverty has more detrimental effects on IQ, school achievement, and socio-emotional functioning than transitory poverty, with children experiencing both types of poverty doing less well than never-poor children. Higher rates of perinatal complications, reduced access to resources that buffers the negative effects of perinatal complications, increased exposure to lead, and less home-based cognitive stimulation partly account for diminished cognitive functioning in poor children. These factors, along with lower teacher expectancies and poorer academic readiness skills, also appear to contribute to lower levels of school achievement among poor children. The link between socioeconomic
About one in five children in the United States has the misfortune of living in a family whose income is below the official poverty threshold (Borman and Reimers 454). Poverty has harmful effects on a child’s academic outcomes, general health, development, and school readiness. The impact of poverty has on a child depends on many factors for instance community features ( crime rate in neighborhood and school characteristics) and the individuals present in the child’s life like their parents, neighbors, or relatives. It is clear that schools and outside environmental factors contribute to whether a child is successful or not in their academic life. A child’s family, neighborhood, and type of school effects that are related with poverty positions the child to be at considerable risk for neglecting school and failing in life in general; however, there are educational programs that can help give children a poverty a fair chance in succeeding in life and in school.
Often, topics are brought up that make citizens uncomfortable. When issues that do not pertain to citizens are brought up, they tend to not listen. Typically, when issues surrounding mental illness or inaccessibility to healthcare are brought up, many do not care. Those without healthcare and those with mental illness are often disregarded. Studying Global Public Health and Applied Psychology at NYU will permit me to explore issues surrounding mental illness and inaccessibility to healthcare.
The fact that almost 46% of Americans could be diagnosed with a mental disorder is just appalling. Although the number of mental disorders should have increased as the psychological field has grown to identify more diseases and the world is geared to be more strenuous on the mind than ever before, this drastic increase in mental disorders is just ridiculous. I have realized that with modern studies, a lot of Americans are considered unhealthy in all aspects (diet physical health, sun exposure, etc.). But to call almost half of Americans mentally ill is just wrong. The main cause of this improper labeling is that mental states that were previously considered Normal as well, as things that are medical in nature as a mental illness in the main cause of this.
Archeological digs within the Babylonian, Mesopotamian, and Egyptian territories have unearthed trephined skulls. These artifacts serve as proof that mental illness and the treatment thereof dated back to 5000 BCE (Foerschner, 2010; Porter 10).
Children can also show traits from a social stance that involve: “inabilities to develop and maintain friendships, difficulty in correctly interpreting social cues, and being verbally and physically aggressive behaviors with others” (Browne, G., et al, 2012, p.18). The emotional representations of these troubles include: “impulsive behavior, nervousness and anxiety, easily upset by demands of teachers and parents, inability to concentrate on tasks, and fearful of trying new tasks” (Browne, G., et al, 2012, p.18). Children with mental health and behavior problems have trouble in cognitive and social situations as well as communication. These troubles can be present in the form of “non-compliant behaviors directed towards adults, aggressive behavior with peers including teasing and bullying, and disruptive behavior in classes” (Browne, G., et al, 2012, p.18). Children usually proceed through repeated stressors that will intensify over time if left untreated (Browne, G., et al, 2012, p.17). We should make children’s needs a priority and provide them with the necessities to become successful academically, socially, and emotionally. We are better off treating children while they are young rather than when their troubles worsen. The sooner they are cared for, the
Mental health can be defined as a state of well-being in which the individual recognizes his or her own potential, can cope with normal stressors, can work productively and effectively, and is able to make an impact in the community. Mental illness on the other hand refers to a wide range of mental health conditions, associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work, or family activities. Examples include depression, anxiety disorder, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and addictive behaviors. Why is this important? In order for children to grow, learn, and lead productive lives children need to be healthy yet African American children are seen as the most at risk group, “encountering a myriad of environmental and psychosocial
In this changing healthcare environment, pediatricians will be expected more frequently to treat mental health disorders and to start psychiatric medications. Approximately half of the pediatric office visits in a primary setting involve emotional, behavioral, developmental, psychosocial,
The topic of mental health in today’s society has seemingly been discussed more frequently. Numerous debates among researchers and internet forums dedicated to this topic: where some children and teens flock to try and find answers, as well as sharing experiences. Adolescents are currently in the spotlight due to the rising impacts of depression and anxiety, likely caused by factors such as family circumstances, and other internal conflicts. Depression and anxiety can either go hand in hand with each other, or be a separate ailment in a patient. There are many causes to these disorders, and many of these circumstances can lead to detrimental effects for the future. 80 percent of children with a diagnosable anxiety disorder and 60 percent of
The Journey to tackling mental health in children is a rough road. Parents and caregivers, teachers, and professionals need to work together to prevent, intervene, and treat mental health issue for all children - those who aren’t considered at risk, those who are at risk, and those who have. With a stigma associated with mental health and having mental health issues some parents may have trouble with want to evaluate their child 's mental health, but early preventions steps may prove beneficial for children, as the mind is more plastic during early development. While treating behavioral issue of those who have or at risk of mental health issue, we also need to focus on their academic improvement as well. Caring for mental health is a life-long journey that needs to began at an early age and will take continued effort from parents, caregivers,