More than one in seven adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 suffer from a diagnosed mental disorder, and most of them are boys (89 million versus 77 million girls).

The figure emerges from the UNICEF report "The condition of childhood in the world - In my mind: promoting, protecting and supporting the mental health of children and young people" which was presented today and which raises the alarm on the condition of the very young . The repercussions on the inconvenience that almost 46 thousand adolescents every year take their lives are heavy.

In the Middle East, North Africa, North America and Western Europe, 40 percent of the mental disorder is anxiety and depression.

But there are also issues such as ADHD, anxiety, autism, bipolar disorder, conduct disorder, depression, eating disorders and schizophrenia that harm children as well as society as a whole and governments, says Henrietta Fore, director general of UNICEF, " they are investing too little to address basic needs ”.

According to the document, moreover, one in 5 young people between the ages of 15 and 24 declare that they often feel depressed or have little interest in carrying out activities. A situation that on the one hand has been aggravated by the coronavirus pandemic and which at the same time risks having a future impact for many years.

(Unioneonline / ss)

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