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Why mental disorders are rising among the young

Risk rises when both parents and children are lost to distractions of the online world

ST ILLUSTRATION: MANNY FRANCISCO
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This year's theme for World Mental Health Day, which falls on Oct 10, is Young People and Mental Health in a Changing World. There are good reasons for focusing on this - if anything, the emerging statistics are bleak.

It is also critical to pay closer attention to mental health problems among the young because of the potential for long-term deleterious effects. It can also be deadly; among the various dire consequences is suicide, which is the second-leading cause of death worldwide among those aged 15 to 29.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 06, 2018, with the headline Why mental disorders are rising among the young. Subscribe