UN report highlights teen depression

Half of all Irish teenagers have experienced depression and a quarter have felt suicidal, according to a report launched today.

In the second of four reports about the health and well-being of Irish teenagers, those surveyed by Unicef Ireland reported high levels of stress and anxiety.

A total of 508 teenagers were interviewed for the Unicef Ireland Changing the Future: Experiencing Youth in Contemporary Ireland report. It is the first attempt at gaining a properly representative sample of the views of Irish teenagers.

Only 14 per cent of the young people who took part in the research project reported never having experienced depression or another form of mental stress.

A fifth reported self-harm with 84 per cent of those experiencing depression, 30 per cent experienced eating disorders and 71 per cent have also felt suicidal.

There were much higher levels of self-reported mental health issues among girls than boys in the survey though it is unclear whether is a result of the willingness of teenage girls to be open about their problems to a greater extent than their male equivalents.

The levels of self-harm were nearly twice as high in girls (27 per cent) than boys (16 per cent). More girls (32 per cent) than boys (24 per cent) also had suicidal thoughts, though men under the age of 25 have the highest actual suicide rate.

Anorexia/bulimia remains almost exclusively a teenage girl phenomenon with nearly a third (32 per cent) experiencing the condition at some stage as opposed to only 2 per cent for teenage boys.

The report will be unveiled today by Unicef Ireland executive director Melanie Verwoerd who warned that there is a “clear overlap” between teenagers who have self-harmed and those who suffer from depression, anorexia/bulimia or who have felt suicidal.

She said the most startling finding from the report was that 41 per cent of teenagers are experiencing ongoing mental health issues, yet only 18 per cent are receiving help from a professional source.

She described the  figures for eating disorders as “very worrying” and indicative of the pressure that teenage girls are under from the media.

The report underlined the need for more comprehensive mental health services for Irish teenagers and more research needed to be done to find out what services are available for teenagers, she suggested.

A previous Unicef Ireland report found that generally Irish teenagers are happy though a significant minority are not optimistic about the future. More than half have experienced bullying and only a very small minority (12 per cent) go to church on a regular basis.