Document

Policy Brief: Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Child and adolescent mental health | State of the Children in the EU 2024

Khadija’s bright smile can light a room but, until two years ago, the 12-year old struggled to find reasons to be happy. As one of the 132 million girls out of school globally, Khadija was convinced that she had missed her opportunity to receive an education and achieve her dreams. She is from the Dom community, a highly vulnerable group in Jordan, and growing up she faced multiple barriers to her education. A recent survey by UNICEF found that 1 in every 4 Dom children are not attending school. — UNICEF/Herwig

About

Data on children’s access to services are limited, but evidence indicates that, in 2022, almost half of young adults (18 to 29) had unmet mental health care needs. Although some individual countries have excellent studies of child and adolescent mental health, there is limited comparable data at the EU level. This brief summarizes what is known based on:

1. Estimates of the prevalence of mental health conditions.

2. Estimates of suicide rates.

3. Self-reported adolescent mental health and well-being.