Prevalence of Mental Health Issues Among Indiana Youth

Source: Indiana Youth Institute | Repost Fight for Life Foundation 7/12/2022 –

Defining Mental Health

Mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how people think, feel, and act. Additionally, mental health helps to determine how individuals handle stress, relate to others, and make choices. Elevated levels of stress, anxiety, fear, and isolation have been reported during the pandemic. To reduce the spread of COVID-19, many communities practiced containment strategies including social distancing and isolation, and quarantine. The Kaiser Family Foundation suggests that school closures, social distancing, loss of health insurance, and disruptions in medical care are contributing factors to declining mental health status in children. Loneliness had a strong correlation with mental health problems in children and adolescents and was associated with future mental health problems up to 9 years later. The strongest association was with depression.

Read the full article…