Abstract
BackgroundChild and adolescent mental health has scarcely been studied in developing countries, though it is an important aspect of health. Mental health problems in youth often continue into adulthood if not diagnosed or treated in time.MethodsThe Sistema de Evaluación de Niños y Adolescentes (SENA) [Child and Adolescent Evaluation System] was used to evaluate mental health indicators in a sample of students in Northern Chile. Two age-appropriate versions of the assessment were applied to a total sample of 5043 students, which included an elementary education sample of 1953 schoolchildren from fourth grade through sixth grade (ages 8 to 13 years), and a Secondary School sample of 3090 schoolchildren from seventh grade (the last year of elementary school) through the last year of Secondary school (senior high school) (ages 12 to 19 years). For each group, the version of the assessment used was determined by the students’ grade level. Both samples included municipal, government-subsidized, and private schools.ResultsIn this student population, depression, anxiety, and behavioral disorders were the main mental health problems identified, and indicators revealed a progressive increase in cases over the years, coinciding with the global epidemiological scenario. Males showed a greater presence of externalizing behaviors related to mental health problems associated with aggression and defiant behavior. However, females showed the highest number of mental health issues overall, especially regarding problems related to internalization. There are significant differences between school types.ConclusionsOur sample population analysis indicates that early intervention is necessary for the diagnosis and treatment of youth, with the goal of reducing the probability that psychiatric disorders will be prolonged, evolving, and worsening in adulthood.
Highlights
Child and adolescent mental health has scarcely been studied in developing countries, though it is an important aspect of health
In the scales depicting problems and vulnerability, it is important to differentiate the highest scores, and we considered a standard score > 60 to fall within the “caution” zone, a score > 70 to fall within the “clinically significant” zone, Table 1 Means, Standard Deviations and possible range in global indices of the Elementary School Sistema de Evaluación de Niños y Adolescentes (SENA) in a sample of 1953 Chilean students from 4th and 6th grades
The results showed that in this youth population, depressive, anxious, and behavioral disorders continue to be the main mental health problems in Elementary and Secondary School students
Summary
Child and adolescent mental health has scarcely been studied in developing countries, though it is an important aspect of health. The prevalence of mental health problems in young children is estimated to be between 17 and 20% globally, with the first symptomatic manifestations observed before age 14 on average. Caqueo-Urízar et al BMC Psychiatry (2020) 20:104 health problems usually diagnosed in young children, such as depression, anxiety, and behavioral disorders, often contain characteristics that are present in other disorders [6, 7]. Depression in this age group is often comorbid with anxiety and/or behavioral disorders. It often involves somatic symptoms, such as gastrointestinal discomfort, headaches, muscle aches, excessive tiredness, and sleep or appetite disturbances, together with other internalizing symptoms of an affective and emotional states associated with hypersensitivity, irritability, aggressiveness, impulsivity, social withdrawal, demotivation, intolerance to frustration, and low self-esteem. It should be noted that in adolescence, depression may be accompanied by problematic substance use, eating disorders, anti-social behavior, or suicidal ideation [8, 9]
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