Number of Hong Kong students with mental health problems doubles in 4 years, with experts blaming 2019 social unrest and Covid
- Some fear figure is tip of iceberg, but others say data reflects awareness, willingness to seek help
- Tertiary-level students fared worst, with 776 diagnosed with mental illness out of 1,400
The hardest hit were students in tertiary institutions, where the number tripled from under 250 in 2018-19 to 776 this year.
Some feared that the actual number of young people with mental health issues could be much higher, while others said the rising trend might also reflect increased awareness and a greater willingness among young people to seek help.
They included anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, psychotic, bipolar and oppositional defiant disorders, Tourette’s syndrome and eating problems.
Mental illness registered the highest increase among all types of special education needs in Hong Kong.
Other special education needs, including autism, intellectual disability, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, and speech and language impairment also recorded double-digit increases at primary and secondary schools over a five-year period.
