overcoming mental health challenges in today’s youth · 2019. 4. 15. · overcoming mental health...
TRANSCRIPT
Overcoming Mental Health
Challenges in Today’s Youth
Ram Chettiar, DO
Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, MO
Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry
Division of Developmental and Behavioral Sciences
Disclosures
▪ No relevant financial interests,
arrangements, or affiliation with
any organizations related to the
content of this presentation
Objectives
▪ Review current data on mental health
rates in youth
▪ Discuss the impact of smartphones and
technology on mental health
vulnerabilities
▪ Provide strategies to best address
anxiety and depression in young people
An American iGen in 2019…
Potential Mental Health
Problems in Youth
▪ Depressive Disorder
▪ Anxiety Disorder
▪ Bipolar Disorder
▪ Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
▪ Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
▪ Borderline Personality Disorder
▪ Eating Disorder
▪ Substance Use Disorder
Possible Red Flags
▪ Withdrawn
▪ Poor grooming
▪ Appetite/Eating Changes
▪ Failing grades
▪ Discord with friends/parents
▪ Victim of bullying
▪ Frequent stomach/head complaints
▪ Sexual Identity Issues
▪ Gender Identity Issues
▪ Cutting back on activities
▪ Suicide models, Contagion effect
▪ Reckless behavior
▪ Substance abuse
▪ Self-injury*
▪ Shutting down
▪ Previous suicide attempt*
QuickStats: Age-
Adjusted*
Suicide† Rates, by
State§ — United
States, 2012
• Source: National Vital
Statistics System. Mortality
public use data files, 2012.
Available
at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/dat
a_access/vitalstatsonline.htm.
Between 1999-2016, suicide rates rose 45% in KS,
36% in MO (CDC, 2018)
Suicide Rate for Youth in KC, MO
0.00
4.50
9.00
13.50
18.00
22.50
2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016
CR
ud
e R
ate
Year
RATE OF COMPLETED SUICIDE FOR YOUTH 10-24 YEARS, KCMO
BY YEAR
(2007-2016) Death Records, City of Kansas City, Missouri Health Department
Suicide Deaths in KS, 5-24 y/o, 2007-2016,
Firearms & Other Causes
Orange:
OTHER
MEANS
Blue:
FIREARMS
Percent of children with a parent-reported ADHD
Diagnosis
National Survey of Children’s Health, National Health Interview Survey, CDC
Source: CDC
Mental Illness Prevalence in Youth
▪ Mental/Behavioral/Developmental disorder – 17.4%
▪ ADHD - 9.4%
▪ Behavioral disorder - 7.4%
▪ Anxiety disorder - 7.1%
▪ Depressive disorder - 3.2%
Helpful Hints
▪ Know what you are going to do if you identify risk
▪ Never keep a secret regarding suicidal thoughts
▪ “I’m so glad you told me”
▪ Emphasize help is available
▪ Review with others if unsure
▪ Always lean on the side of caution
▪ Parents deserve to know of suicide risk
▪ Demonstrate COMPASSION
▪ remain calm
▪ listen
▪ avoid judgement
▪ offer unconditional support
▪ normalize the experience
▪ Gather INFORMATION - safety, emergent/non-
emergent, suicidality
You Have Identified Risk: What’s Next?
Start with having a conversation
▪ Don’t leave the young person alone
▪ Have him or her taken directly to the emergency
department or call 911
▪ Means restriction: making the environment as safe
as possible by limiting access to lethal means, i.e.
firearms, medications, etc
Imminent Risk
Digital Information World, 2018
Most Popular Social Networks of Teenagers in
the US from Fall 2012 to Fall 2018
Source: Statistica, 2018
A brief history of Facebook…
A Generational Story…Millennials
(born 1980-1994)▪ Parent: “When will you be
home?”▪ Teen: “When do I have to be
home?
▪ Value independence
▪ Remember a time without internet and cell phones
▪ As teens…worked more, went on more dates, spent more time on homework
iGen
(born 1995-2012)▪ Tend to go out less
frequently▪ Check in with parents every
30 minutes by text
▪ Value connectedness
▪ Do not remember a time without internet
▪ As teens…worked less, went on less dates, spent less time on homework
2012▪ An abrupt shift in teen behaviors and emotional
states▪ the most dramatic shift in a century, based on
generational data
▪ The changes were seen across all socioeconomic
statuses, every ethnicity, and across
urban/suburban/rural locations
▪ Why 2012??▪ The exact moment when the proportion of
Americans who owned a smartphone
surpassed 50%▪ 2017 Survey: ¾ of teens own a smartphone
Teen Romance in a Digital Age
▪ How Teens Flirt (Pew Rearch Center, 2015)
▪ 55% in person
▪ 50% on Facebook
▪ 47% “Like” or “Comment” on a
post
▪ 46% say something funny or
interesting online
▪ 31% send a flirty message
Obstacles for teens who use social
media for romance
▪ The delay in a significant
other in responding to a
text message can make
them feel ignored or
unimportant, especially
when they can see on
social media that their
partner is online
▪ 27% of teens who date
have had a partner use
social media to track their
whereabouts
▪ 27% of teens who date say
that social media makes
them feel jealous or
unsure of their
relationship
▪ 69% of teen daters agree
that too many people can
see what is going on with
their relationships on
social media
Pew Research Center, 2016
Videogames
PRO
▪ Practical social skills/role play
▪ Shared activity, teamwork
▪ Less vulnerable
▪ Easy to “log off”
CON
▪ Less in-person skill development
▪ Enable social avoidance
▪ Negative impact on health (less physical activity)
▪ Desensitization to violence
*Ability to create an online identity:
?idealized
?like you or not like you
?anonymity
?self-expression
Reported benefits of social media use
▪ Socialization
▪ Especially socially isolated youth
▪ Connectedness
▪ Need high social media engagement
▪ Staying in touch
▪ Making new friends
▪ Community engagement
▪ Share collective creativity
▪ art, ideas, etc
▪ Grow ideas
▪ blogs, podcasts, videos, gaming
▪ Foster individual identity and social skills
▪ Enhance learning opportunities
Reported harm of social media use
▪ Bullying, clique-forming, sexual experimentation
▪ …may lead to cyberbullying, privacy issues, sexting
▪ Parents do not often have the technical abilities or
time to keep pace with their child’s online activities
▪ “Vaguebooking” – posting unclear but alarming
sounding posts to get attention▪ Predictive of suicidal ideation
▪ ADHD, ODD, anxiety symptoms, depressive
symptoms, loneliness, and FOMO (fear of missing out)▪ Screen time linked to diminished happiness
▪ 6-9h/wk = 47% more likely to feel unhappy
▪ 10h/wk = 56% more likely to feel unhappy
FOMO(fear of missing out)
▪ Correlated with anxiety
and depression
▪ Adolescents with high
FOMO (measured by
emotional investment into
social media) exhibit
higher levels of distress
when they have limited
access to social media
▪ 21% of teens report feeling
worse about their own life
because of what they see
from other friends on
social media
A pervasive apprehension that
others might be having rewarding
experiences from which one is
absent→ Leads to a desire to stay
continually connected with what others
are doing
Cyberbullying
▪ Leads to depression,
anxiety, severe
isolation, and suicide
▪ Girls are affected
greater than boys
▪ Cyberbullying has
shown to be more
frequent and severe
than offline bullying (Lloyd, 2014)
Sexting
▪ 20% of teens have sent nude or seminude
photographs or videos of themselves to
others▪ This number is rising and will likely continue to
increase
▪ Legal consequences → distribution of
child pornography
▪ Social consequences → friends
distribute pictures to other friends
Sleep problems
▪ Increased social media use is
correlated with sleep problems
▪ Consuming social media when
they should be sleeping
▪ Stimulation from the lights on
the screens making sleep
difficult
Privacy Concerns
▪ Disregard for privacy
▪ Teens share too much
▪ Digital footprint →
may affect future
reputation (college
acceptance, future
jobs)
▪ Easier for marketers
and fraudsters
▪ Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)
▪ Prevents websites from collecting information on children younger than 13yo without parental permission
▪ 13 is the minimum age to sign up on most social media sites
▪ AAP encourages following the minimum age for use on social media websites
Boys vs Girls
▪ Who uses social media
more?
▪ Feels more lonely with
social medial use?
▪ Higher rates of depression
tied to social medial use?
▪ Increase in suicide
attempts?
▪ Higher risk for
cyberbullying
▪ Girls
▪ Girls
▪ Girls
▪ Girls (50% vs 21%,’12-’15)▪ (boys still complete suicide at
higher rates d/t more lethal means)
▪ Girls▪ (boys more likely to bully
physically)
Life-History Theory
▪ Human development will be slower when
families are smaller, people live longer,
children are safe and healthy, and
education takes longer to complete
▪ Explains delays in adolescent engagement in
adult activities (alcohol, dating, sex, going out
without parents, driving a car, working a job)
▪ Jean Twinge, Professor of Psychology, San
Diego State University (Time Health, 2017)
Not all adolescents are created the same…
▪ Some feel sad and lean to social
media for support
▪ Some get more sad and feel
lonely after using social media
▪ Some feel creative and inspired
▪ Some become angry and
irritable
Technology Recommendations
▪ 1. Parents should become better educated about the technologies
their kids are using
▪ 2. Create a Family Media Plan
▪ Regular family meetings to discuss online topics, check
privacy settings, and online profiles for inappropriate posts
(emphasize healthy behavior, not punitive action)
▪ Website: HealthyChildren.org/MediaUsePlan (AAP)
▪ 3. Parents should be aware of the nature of social media sites,
monitor for cyberbullying, “Facebook depression,” sexting, and
exposure to inappropriate content
▪ 4. Use social media in moderation
▪ Fewer social media platforms, unfollow/block negative people
or pages, take social media breaks (positive effect within 7
days), put down the screen to do something (DO ANYTHING!)
▪ 5. Carve out screen-free time (parents too!) – meals, before
breakfast, during homework, car rides, lights off/screens off,
bedtime
Thank You!