Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Sep;215(3):565-567.
doi: 10.1192/bjp.2019.19.

Prevalence of mental health problems in schools: poverty and other risk factors among 28 000 adolescents in England

Jessica Deighton  1 , Suzet Tanya Lereya  2 , Polly Casey  2 , Praveetha Patalay  3 , Neil Humphrey  4 , Miranda Wolpert  1
Affiliations

Prevalence of mental health problems in schools: poverty and other risk factors among 28 000 adolescents in England

Jessica Deighton et al. Br J Psychiatry. 2019 Sep.

Abstract

Current mental health provision for children is based on estimates of one in ten children experiencing mental health problems. This study analyses a large-scale community-based dataset of 28 160 adolescents to explore school-based prevalence of mental health problems and characteristics that predict increased odds of experiencing them. Findings indicate the scale of mental health problems in England is much higher than previous estimates, with two in five young people scoring above thresholds for emotional problems, conduct problems or hyperactivity. Gender, deprivation, child in need status, ethnicity and age were all associated with increased odds of experiencing mental health difficulties.

Declarations of interest: None.

Keywords: Mental health; adolescence; risk factors.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declarations of interest: None.

Comment in

References

    1. Green H, McGinnity A, Meltzer H, Ford T, Goodman R. Mental Health of Children and Young People in Great Britain, 2004. Report No.: 1403986371 Office for National Statistics, 2005.
    1. Kessler RC, Berglund P, Demler O, Jin R, Merikangas KR, Walters EE. Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2005; 62: 593–602. - PubMed
    1. Fazel M, Hoagwood K, Stephan S, Ford T. Mental health interventions in schools in high-income countries. Lancet Psychiatry 2014; 1: 377–87. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Education. Transforming Children and Young People's Mental Health Provision: A Green Paper. Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Education, 2017.
    1. Department of Health and Social Care, Education Df. Government Response to the Consultation on Transforming Children and Young People's Mental Health Provision: A Green Paper and Next Steps. Department of Health and Social Care and the Department of Education, 2018.