Two-thirds of parents fear their son or daughter would be facing “a life sentence” if they developed a mental health problem in childhood, research shows.



Many also worry that their child will not get a job, find a partner or have a family as a result of their condition, and might even be taken away from them.

A survey of 2,061 adults, including 500 parents, found that 67% of parents believe their child may never recover from being diagnosed with mental illness.

The findings have prompted renewed concern about how well-equipped NHS children’s and adolescent mental health services are to deal with the growing number of young people experiencing problems such as acute anxiety.

“It’s heartbreaking that our research shows an overwhelming majority of parents would view their children being diagnosed with a mental illness as equating to a life sentence, not least when we know that mental illness is both treatable and preventable,” said Cynthia Joyce, chief executive of MQ: Transforming Mental Health, a charity set up by the Wellcome Trust.

“Living with mental illness can be a tough burden for everyone – but when it affects a child it can be terrifying for them. Our research reflects this huge concern and just how far we still have to go when it comes to tackling mental health. Our understanding is decades behind that of other conditions,” she said.

Research by YouGov found that 49% of parents would worry that their child would never meet a partner or have children if they were diagnosed, while 48% feared they would be unemployed. Almost as many (44%) admitted that they feared their child could be removed from the family home.

About one in 10 children and young people aged five to 16 have been diagnosed with a mental disorder. The commonest conditions are conduct disorder (5.8%), anxiety (3%), hyperkinetic disorder, a severe form of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (1.5%) and depression (0.9%), according to Office for National Statistics data from 2004.

One in five children who have a diagnosable condition suffers from two mental ailments at the same time.

More than 248,000 children and young people were referred to CAMHS services in England for help and treatment in 2015. But research last month by the children’s commissioner for England revealed that “large numbers of children and young people – some with apparently serious conditions – are being turned away from CAMHS upon referral and/or are having to wait long periods of time for treatment”. In addition, many children referred for help have to wait a long time to be seen by mental health services.

Nick Harrop, the campaigns manager at the charity YoungMinds, said: “Mental health problems at a young age do not need to be a life sentence, but it’s crucial that children who are struggling receive support as early as possible.

“Child and adolescent mental health services are a postcode lottery, with extremely long waiting times in some areas, which means that too many young people reach crisis point before they get help.”

Mental ill-health causes 23% of the overall disease burden in the UK. But mental health conditions receive just £109.4m (5.77%) of the £1.9bn annual budget for all health research. Cancer, which causes 16% of the disease burden, gets £370.4m, or 19.53% of the total, according to the UK Clinical Research Collaboration.