This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Some of the most vulnerable children and young people are failing to access mental health support despite having much higher levels of need, according to new research from the University of Cambridge. Despite children and young people on child protection plans or in care being significantly more likely to have serious mental health issues, less than one in five had contact with mental health services in a given year.
In England, just under one-fifth of children and young people (18%) are estimated to have a probable mental health disorder. A third of mental health problems start before age 14, so timely access to appropriate mental health services is a key priority. Yet, fewer than half of children and young people with a probable mental health disorder receive a referral.
Nearly 50,000 children and young people are on child protection plans and 84,000 are in care. Often because of their backgrounds and circumstances, which can involve abuse and neglect, these individuals are at increased risk of mental health difficulties. Previous studies have suggested that up to half will experience mental health problems at a clinically significant level.
Researchers at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge analyzed data from NHS Digital for all children and young people in England referred to or receiving support from mental health services between April 2016 and March 2021. Their findings are published in Child and Adolescent Mental Health. During this period, almost 2 million children and young people were in contact with mental health services, with figures rising year over year.
The most common referral reasons were anxiety (13%), "in crisis" (10%), depression (7%), neurodevelopmental conditions (6%) and self-harm (6%). The primary reason for referral was not recorded in two-thirds (67%) of cases. Children on child protection plans or in care were found to be two to three times more likely than their peers to have contact with mental health services, yet the report's authors say that only around 9%–18% of these children had contact with mental health services in a given year.
One possible reason is that child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) can be hesitant to accept referrals for children and young people involved with child welfare services, leaving child welfare services and families themselves to bear the brunt of shortcomings in mental health provision. Recent research by the team found that individuals in this group were often rejected from mental health services because their needs were viewed as too complex or related to their social situation. For example, one 12-year-old girl living in residential care who had been referred to CAMHS after a suicide attempt was deemed too complex to receive intensive specialist support.
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