There is a discrepancy between emotional problems perceived by parents and the feelings expressed by their children

A snapshot view of NHS and other data on child and adolescent mental health reveals a stark difference along gender lines.

Stress and social media fuel mental health crisis among girls Read more

As reported earlier this week, the results of a study by University College London and the University of Liverpool show a discrepancy between the emotional problems perceived by parents and the feelings expressed by their children. Researchers asked parents to report signs of emotional problems in their children at various ages; they also presented the children at age 14 with a series of questions to detect symptoms of depression.





The study reveals that almost a quarter of teenage girls exhibit depressive symptoms. Data from NHS Digital, which examines the proportion of antidepressants prescribed to teenagers between 13 and 17 years old, shows that three-quarters of all antidepressants for this age group are prescribed to girls.



Eating disorders are one of the most common manifestations of mental health problems, and are in some cases closely related to depression. A year-by-year breakdown of hospital admissions for eating disorders indicates that, while eating disorders in both boys and girls are on the rise, more than 90% of teens admitted to the hospital for treatment are girls.

Records also show hospital admissions dating back to 2005 for individuals under 18 years old who committed self-harm. While the numbers for boys have seen a smaller amount of variation with a general upward trend, the figure for girls has climbed sharply during the last decade, with the most significant jump occurring between 2012/13 and 2013/14.





Two of the most common methods of self-harm are poisoning and cutting. Self-poisoning victims are about five times as likely to be girls, and the number of girls hospitalised for cutting themselves has quadrupled over the course of a decade.



Although self-harm, depression, and other mental health problems are more commonly reported and identified in girls, suicide rates are far higher among boys. This data is consistent with research on differences found between men and women in methods used to commit suicide, the influence of alcohol, and other social or cultural factors.

