Engaging Young People through Blogging as a Form of Digital Mental Health Intervention

Dennis Relojo-Howell

Founder of Psychreg, UK

Dennis Relojo-Howell, Founder of Psychreg, UK

Keywords: Mental Health; Internet; Adolescents

Abstract

A large body of research has demonstrated the high prevalence of mental health issues in children and young people. In the UK, the NHS Digital (2018) [1] reports that 12.8% of children and young people aged between 5 and 19, surveyed in England in 2017, had a mental disorder according to a major new report which provides England’s best source of data on trends in child mental health. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (2021) [2] estimates that Globally, 1 in 7 of 10-19-year-olds experiences a mental health issue, accounting for 13% of the global burden of disease in this age group. This is already a stark situation but the pandemic has put more strain on many young people who were already struggling with their mental health. Prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression has risen dramatically among young people and remains higher than pre?crisis levels even with the partial re?opening of the economy, and compared to other age groups, even as economies partially re-open. The worsening of mental health can be attributed to disruptions to access to mental health services, the wide?ranging impacts of school closures, and a labour market crisis that is disproportionately affecting young people [3].

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