There are many mental disorders which can affect the life of a young teenager, and perhaps most people in western society would be amazed at the extent to which such disorders affect the adolescents in society, there are many teens who suffer from one type of mental illness or another. Perhaps making a subtle comment about current western lifestyles!!??

Some Statistics About Teen Mental Health Problems.

n  It is estimated that nearly three percent (3%) of the American population who are 18 years or slightly older suffer from Bipolar Disorder. This is a brain disorder which causes extreme mood swings, and is often inherited by teens from their parents.

n  Another form of mental illness is Conduct Disorder, which is a behavioral problem in teenagers including stealing and fighting. It affects up to 4% of youngsters in the 9 – 17 years age group, seemingly more common in boys than girls.

n  The treatable illness of severe Depression, which can lead to absenteeism from school, drug and alcohol abuse affects, at any one point in time almost 10% of the youth population are affected by this kind of emotional disturbance.

n  Eating Disorders, The two main types are Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa and are frequently present in adolescents. Although more common in teen girls, nearly up to 15% of individuals diagnosed with either condition are male teens.

n  A condition which affects both children and adolescents usually following a disturbing or frightening trauma is Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), it is estimated that some 5 million Americans, including teenagers suffer from this disorder.

n  In the age group 10 – 24 years, some 72% of deaths are caused by Risk-Taking Behavior, mainly involving vehicle accidents?, homicide or suicide. A fairly recent risk-taking survey taken over a short 30 day period indicated that almost 30% of high school students had accompanied a drunken driver, and 18% had been carrying a weapon.

n  Suicide is the Third highest cause of death in the age group 15 – 24 years, and accounted for 12.5% of all deaths in this group.Again in a fairly recent survey 7% of high school students had actually attempted suicide, whilst a further 15% had seriously contemplated taking this action.

The above statistics do not include the use of illicit substances, where recently it has been shown that about 20 million Americans over the age of 12 years are currently using drugs of some kind, which represents about 8% of the population.

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