Mental health: The rise in student suicides is just the tip of the pandemic iceberg
In late January, reports emerged of a surge in student suicides in Las Vegas, noting that Clark County reported 18 suicides over nine months of school closure — double the number of the entire previous year.
Many of my female friends share my concerns about the impact of COVID on their school-aged children for reasons ranging from:
One in five COVID-19 patients develops a mental-health problem. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, the proportion of children’s mental health-related emergency department visits among all pediatric ED visits increased starting in April 2020 and remained elevated through October. Compared with 2019, that figure increased 24% for children aged 5-11 and 31% for children aged 12-17.
Many of my female friends share my concerns about the impact of COVID on their school-aged children for reasons ranging from:
- Lack of physical contact with friends at school and elsewhere.
- Growing inability for parents to balance work responsibilities with adequate oversight of younger children.
- The challenge of remote learning, including its impact on high schoolers’ grades and SAT scores as they apply to college, with little ability to visit campuses.
- College students (particularly first years) studying and trying to socialize from their bedrooms instead of enjoying normal on-campus activities and interactions.
One in five COVID-19 patients develops a mental-health problem. According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study, the proportion of children’s mental health-related emergency department visits among all pediatric ED visits increased starting in April 2020 and remained elevated through October. Compared with 2019, that figure increased 24% for children aged 5-11 and 31% for children aged 12-17.
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