A nationwide study on child and adolescent mental disorders has found that nearly 30 percent of children have mental disorders and need professional consultation and assistance.
The three-year study commissioned by the Ministry of Health and Welfare also found that 3.1 percent of children had thought of committing suicide within six months prior to being asked about it, meaning that for every 100,000 children, 3,100 have thought about taking their own life.
The figures are “worrisome,” Department of Mental and Oral Health Director-General Chen Li-chung (諶立中) said on Monday upon publication of the study conducted by Susan Gau (高淑芬), a professor of psychiatry at National Taiwan University’s College of Medicine.
It was the first nationwide epidemiological study of child and adolescent mental disorders of its kind in Taiwan, aiming to obtain prevalence rates — within the previous six months and over a lifetime — and to identify the psychosocial, individual, environmental and familial risk factors for mental disorders in the groups.
The mental disorders referred to in the research include learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder.
They also include mood disorders such as major depression, dysthymia and bipolar disorder, as well as anxiety disorders, phobias, obsessive compulsive disorder, sleep disorders, eating disorders and substance abuse disorders.
The school-based survey was conducted among students in the third, fifth and seventh grades, who were selected from 69 schools in 19 counties and cities.
A total of 10,122 students received clinical interviews by Gau’s research team with their own and their parents’ consent.
The survey found that the weighted lifetime prevalence of those diagnosed as having any of the targeted mental disorders in children and adolescents was 32.3 percent, while the prevalence within the previous six months was 28.7 percent.
The mental disorder with the highest prevalence was ADHD at 11.1 percent, followed by nightmare disorder at 8.8 percent, phobias at 6.4 percent, conduct disorder at 4.4 percent, separation anxiety disorder at 3.3 percent, oppositional defiant disorder at 1.9 percent, social phobia at 1.8 percent and autism at 1 percent.
The figures are much higher than the one-year nationwide prevalence rate of 2.44 percent for ADHD, 0.33 percent for autism and less than 1 percent for other mental disorders in children and adolescents found in National Health Insurance research carried out in 2012.
Gau said that the preliminary results are similar to Western studies, which showed that about 25 percent of children and adolescents have at least one kind of psychiatric disorder.
The results indicate that “mental disorders are common in Taiwanese children and adolescents,” she wrote in the report.
Resources should be allocated for prevention and intervention to address child and adolescent mental disorders, Gau said.
EVA Air is prohibiting the use of portable chargers on board all flights starting from Saturday, while China Airlines is advising passengers not to use them, following the lead of South Korean airlines. Current regulations prohibit portable chargers and lithium batteries from check-in luggage and require them to be properly packed in carry-on baggage, EVA Air said. To improve onboard safety, portable chargers and spare lithium batteries would be prohibited from use on all fights starting on Saturday, it said. Passengers are advised to fully charge electronic devices before boarding and use the AC and USB charging outlets at their seat, it said. South
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
WAR SIMULATION: The developers of the board game ‘2045’ consulted experts and analysts, and made maps based on real-life Chinese People’s Liberation Army exercises To stop invading Chinese forces seizing Taiwan, board gamer Ruth Zhong chooses the nuclear option: Dropping an atomic bomb on Taipei to secure the nation’s freedom and her victory. The Taiwanese board game 2045 is a zero-sum contest of military strategy and individual self-interest that puts players on the front lines of a simulated Chinese attack. Their battlefield game tactics would determine the theoretical future of Taiwan, which in the real world faces the constant threat of a Chinese invasion. “The most interesting part of this game is that you have to make continuous decisions based on the evolving situation,
Actor Lee Wei (李威) was released on bail on Monday after being named as a suspect in the death of a woman whose body was found in the meeting place of a Buddhist group in Taipei’s Daan District (大安) last year, prosecutors said. Lee, 44, was released on NT$300,000 (US$9,148) bail, while his wife, surnamed Chien (簡), was released on NT$150,000 bail after both were summoned to give statements regarding the woman’s death. The home of Lee, who has retreated from the entertainment business in the past few years, was also searched by prosecutors and police earlier on Monday. Lee was questioned three
RSS