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For the past two decades, mental health experts have observed a concerning trend.
The wellbeing of Australia’s young people – and those in similar countries around the world – is declining. Depression and anxiety diagnoses have skyrocketed, and suicide is now the leading cause of death for young people in a number of countries, including Australia.
As education reporter Emily Kowal reports in today’s Sun-Herald, Australians are being struck down by anxiety, in particular earlier in life, with the National Mental Health Commission placing the average first age of diagnosis at 11 years old.
About four in five principals say children’s anxiety is a significant issue within their schools, and 144 NSW principals have signed their schools up to an evidence-based program called The Anxiety Project, which seeks to educate not only students but also their parents and teachers on how to best manage anxiety in children.
Spoiler: it is not by cocooning children from potentially stressful situations. As leading psychiatrist and former Australian of the Year Professor Patrick McGorry phrased it: exposing children to “an acceptable level of risk”. The program pushes back against what parents, teachers and, indeed, principals believed was the right approach, encouraging kids to name their anxiety and face their discomfort, rather than endorsing letting them sit out of possibly stressful situations, like overnight camps or public speaking assignments.
The evidence for early intervention in children’s mental health issues is clear.
Australia-first research by the Black Dog Institute, exclusively reported by the Sun-Herald last month, has also highlighted the need for early intervention, with researchers concerned that, by the time a child is in year 8, their mental health problems were already set in.
The organisation’s Future Proofing Study has tracked more than 6000 students from year 8 to year 11 across more than 130 schools. Its preliminary findings found one in four participants reported persistently high or worsening mental health, with 26 per cent reporting anxiety symptoms and 19 per cent symptoms of depression.
However, firm friendships and feelings of belonging in early high school were associated with reduced instances of mental health issues.
These feelings come about by making children feel heard, of course, and their emotions recognised. But they probably do not come about by allowing children to self-select out of activities such as school camps or potentially stressful learning tasks that may make them feel anxious – it is difficult to foster a sense of belonging in a child who is always sitting out.
In response to principals’ push for a standardised approach to managing childhood anxiety, NSW Education Minister Prue Car said all public schools have access to high-quality, evidence-based wellbeing programs.
But, faced with the anecdotal evidence of hundreds of principals about the scale of the problem – and the experiences of those at 144 schools, educating more than 50,000 students trying something new – a rethink of how schools are tackling the mental health condition that is coming to define a generation seems appropriate.
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