All articles tagged with #suicidal behavior
A four-year study of over 4,000 adolescents found that those with addictive patterns of social media, mobile phone, or video game use are at a higher risk of suicidal behavior and emotional problems, emphasizing the importance of understanding compulsive use rather than just screen time. The research suggests that interventions targeting addictive behaviors could help mitigate mental health risks among youth.
A study analyzing private insurance claims reveals that during the second year of the pandemic, there was a 22% increase in mental health emergency visits to emergency rooms by teenage girls aged 13 to 17, compared to a pre-pandemic baseline. The rise was particularly notable for eating disorders and suicidal behavior. In contrast, there was a 9% drop in emergency room visits for mental health issues among teenage boys. The study suggests that disruptions in school, separation from peers, and conflict at home may have disproportionately affected girls. The increase in mental health emergencies among young people, especially girls, highlights the need for improved access to mental health care and resources.
A study by researchers at Dartmouth College found that between 2009 and 2019, mental health hospitalizations for children increased 25.8% and cost $1.37 billion, with the portion of pediatric mental health hospitalizations involving suicidal or self-harming behavior rising to 64.2% in 2019 from 30.7% in 2009. The study underlines the inadequacies in the U.S. health system, with parents encountering frustrations such as clinicians who don’t take insurance or aren’t taking new patients, crisis interventions staffed by low-paid, poorly trained workers, and insurers that don’t reimburse well. The study should spur policymakers to place more mental health care services in school and community settings, which “may well result in decreased hospitalizations,” said Mary Arakelyan, a research project manager at Dartmouth Health Children’s and another co-author.