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Abstract

Mental health issues are a very large problem in the United States today. For a long time, mental health issues were ignored and not even seen as something worth looking into or studying, let alone being a real medical condition. When they finally started to come to light, they were only associated with adults. In the United States, children’s mental health issues were largely ignored. It has only been recently that mental health in adolescents is being addressed, and phycologist and scientists are finding important information about how friendships can impact the way these at-risk adolescents deal with mental health issues. According to the CDC, one in five children will end up developing a mental health disorder, whether it be anxiety, depression, or anger issues. This trend may continue to increase unless something is done about it. I believe that increasing awareness and educating people on adolescent mental health will impact the number of mental health problems youth are facing in today’s world. Childhood depression and mental health issues need to be addressed early on by parents and schools across the United States by screening for mental health issues, showing the importance of friendship and comradery, and encouraging parents to enroll their children in counseling services. Additionally, parents need to be educated on mental health issue signs to address them early on. Studies have shown the importance of addressing childhood mental health problems by stating that if they are left untreated then those problems may develop into worse problems and hamper that child’s ability to handle situations and social interactions as an adult.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.25035/writ.04.01.04

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