New government research into teenage mental health issues could unlock quicker diagnosis and better support from health facilities and schools
Vital improvements to treatments for mental health conditions amongst teenagers and young adults could be on the horizon thanks to new government-backed research.
In the UK, one in eight children or young people are affected by mental health problems. Approximately three-quarters of children or young people who experience mental health problems will do so before the age of 24.
A new £35 million government-backed research programme launched today (Monday 7 October) aims to give more support to teenagers battling with mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, self-harm and eating disorders. Academics will look at external tensions and genetics to ensure mental health problems are being treated as effectively as possible at this crucial age, while the brain is still developing.
Adolescence is often a poorly understood period in our lives, when the brain is particularly sensitive to external influences - while youngsters’ social and cultural interactions are rapidly changing. Early intervention has a crucial role to play in ensuring young people have quicker, better access to support and treatments.
Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom said:
Promoting healthy behaviours, the new programme will benefit from £35 million over its five-year duration and will look at how youngsters interact with the world, their biological background, their social relationships and achievements at school. It is open to Higher Education Institutes, businesses and Public Sector Research Schemes for involvement – building a national capability across the UK.
The project could lead to early identification of vulnerable young people in schools and health services and better diagnosis, while exploring what makes some teenagers more susceptible to conditions than others. The findings from this research could potentially reduce instances of anti-social behaviour, substance abuse or low educational attainment.
Emma Thomas, Chief Executive of YoungMinds:
The investment is the latest move by the government to improve mental health support for youngsters - with the NHS Long Term Plan being backed by an extra £2.3 billion a year, so 345,000 more children and young people have better access to mental health support by 2023-24. It also builds on the government’s new health education curriculum, which will become mandatory in all schools from September 2020.
The funding forms part of the government’s Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF), led by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) - and comes after the government reaffirming its commitment to invest at least 2.4% of GDP in R&D by 2027.
UK Research and Innovation Executive Chair for the Medical Research Council, Professor Fiona Watt, said: