COVID-19 lockdowns have resulted in more suicides among teens according to a study.
Suicide rates for teens have spiked recently, resulting in what CBN News calls a "pandemic within a pandemic." When schools closed due to the lockdowns, homes became "virtual classrooms" where there was very few interaction like in school causing students to be "anxious, disinterested, and isolated" that caused "some kids" to struggle in finding answers or "a way out."
The Mental Health America website released last March 29 information on what the MHA Screening Data reveal on the impact of the pandemic. The MHA said that the pandemic has a "profound negative effect on the mental health of the nation" such that the organization "witnessed an increasing number of people experiencing anxiety, depression, psychosis, loneliness, and other mental health concerns."
"In 2020, over 2.6 million (N=2,677,734) people took a mental health screen, comprising the largest dataset compiled for a mental health help-seeking population during the pandemic, and representing a nearly 200% increase over the number of people who completed a screening in 2019 (N=910,750)," MHA National said.
From an analysis of 2.6 million people who took the mental health screen from January-December 2020, data reveal that 42% of screeners belonged to those aged 11-17 and followed immediately by aged 18-24 at 31%.
"People who accessed screening in 2020 were younger than the 2019 average. Forty-two percent of screeners from January-December 2020 were youth ages 11-17, a 13% increase over 2019 (29%). The percentage of 18-24-year-olds remained about the same from 2019 to 2020 (32% in 2019 and 31% in 2020)," they stressed.
The 2020 data demographics also reveal that the largest portion of screeners tested for Depression at 35% that were followed by Anxiety at 20% and bipolar at 17%. Others took tests for psychosis, eating disorder, youth, PTSD, alcohol or substance abuse, postpartum depression, and parent.
As to ethinicity, Whites or non-Hispanics registered the highest count of screeners at 1,001,855 or 52.72% for 2020 followed by Asians or Pacific Islanders at 15.46% or 293,721. The least recorded were Native Americans or American Indians at 1.21% or 22,969 screeners for 2020.
"The proportion of youth ages 11-17 reporting frequent thoughts of suicide or self-harm was also highest among those who identified their race as 'Other' (57%, N=9,754), youth who identified as Native American or American Indian (57%, N=2,348), and Asian or Pacific Islander youth (54%, N=26,345) in 2020," the study added.
"The largest increases in the proportion of youth experiencing suicidal ideation between 2019 and 2020 was for Black or African American screeners (5% increase) and Hispanic or Latinx screeners (4% increase)."
In addition, CBN News cited data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating that kids with mental health conditions treated in emergency rooms have increased in April to October 2020.
The CDC said that in June 2020 reported suicidal ideation, substance use, and mental health conditions among adults in the United States experienced elevated levels. This disproportionately affected young adults, black persons, Hispanic persons, among other specific populations.
A March 29 data showed that 40.3%-45.2% of those aged 18-29 years experienced Anxiety Disorder and 36%-40.4% for the same age group experienced Depression, registering the highest among the age groups for both mental illness.
