One in Three Indonesian Adolescents Suffers from Mental Health Disorders
Mental health problems among children and adolescents remain a serious issue in Indonesia. According to the 2022 Indonesia National Adolescent Mental Health Survey, 15.5 million out of 46 million adolescents experience mental health problems. This means one in three Indonesian adolescents has a mental health issue.
The most common mental health disorder found in Indonesia is depression. Data shows that approximately 2 per cent of children and adolescents aged 15-24 years experience depression. More worryingly, 61 per cent of them had suicidal thoughts within a one-month period.
Paediatric consultant in developmental growth, Dr Angga Wirahmadi, stated that adolescent depression constitutes a mental health emergency. According to his findings, depression in children is more common in females, adolescents with secondary education levels, and those living in urban areas.
“But even though this depression rate is quite high, it turns out only 10 per cent of this young population seeks help from a doctor. This shows that awareness and access to mental health services remain low,” Dr Angga said during a virtual discussion held by the Indonesian Paediatric Society (IDAI) monitored in Jakarta on Tuesday.
Dr Angga therefore urged parents to recognise the signs of depression in adolescents early. Early symptoms that often appear include a lack of desire to engage in activities, low self-esteem, feelings of helplessness, difficulty sleeping, lack of energy, loss of appetite, and feeling worthless.
“Try to monitor whether your child shows the symptoms or signs I just mentioned. If so, consult a doctor immediately for further evaluation,” said Dr Angga.
In addition to depression, parents also need to be aware of anxiety disorders in adolescents. According to Dr Angga, adolescents experiencing anxiety generally exhibit overthinking behaviour, avoidance of things they dislike, frequent sweating, and complaints of stomach aches.
Furthermore, affected children also tend to constantly need reassurance from others, move continuously due to worry, experience headaches, heart palpitations, and difficulty sleeping. He reminded that symptoms of depression and anxiety are often difficult to distinguish from other disorders. Therefore, doctors and health workers handling paediatric patients must understand how to detect mental health disorders early.
“So the symptoms are actually somewhat difficult to distinguish from other disorders. Thus, we as paediatricians and doctors involved in or serving paediatric patients must certainly know how to detect them. As mentioned earlier, many factors play a role in adolescent development,” Dr Angga said.