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Feature Story

Good Mental Health Supports Student Learning

Donna Lloyd-Kolkin, Ph.D., Health Communication Specialist

May is National Mental Health Month, a good time to pause and take a look at the mental health of today's students.

If you're a classroom teacher, the odds are good that one in five of your students will experience some type of mental health problem during the school year. The President's Freedom Commission on Mental Health in 2003 points out that schools play an essential part in identifying children with mental health issues. According to the Surgeon General's 1999 report on Mental Health, about 21 percent of young people between the ages of 9 and 17 experience the signs and symptoms of a mental or emotional disorder during the course of a year. About 5 percent experience extreme impairment from their disorder, while the remainder are considered significantly impaired.

The National Association of School Psychologists identified some common mental health problems that students encounter. These include:

• Anxiety and stress
• Concerns about being bullied
• Relationship problems with family or friends
• Loneliness or rejection
• Disabilities
• Depression
• Images of suicide or hurting others
• Issues about sexuality
• Academic challenges
• Dropping out
• Alcohol and substance abuse
• Fear of violence, terrorism and war

Although no child is immune from developing a mental health problem, the children at greatest risk are those with physical problems, intellectual disabilities, low birth weight, family history of mental and/or addictive disorders, multigenerational poverty, separation from the primary caregiver, or abuse and neglect.

Unfortunately, according to a study from the RAND Corporation, only 5 to 7 percent of young people who suffer a mental health problem will receive the help they need to feel better.

Mental Health and Academic Achievement

The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health reported research that children with serious emotional disturbances have the highest rates of school failure.

Improving children's mental health supports their academic achievement. The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health reported research that children with serious emotional disturbances have the highest rates of school failure. Fifty percent of these students drop out of high school, compared to 30% of students with other disabilities.

Other studies have reported that:

• Students with higher levels of depression received lowered grades, had lower scholastic motivation, and a generally negative attitude toward school.
• Children with anxiety disorders were more likely to develop alcohol and drug dependence, suicidal behavior and a reduced likelihood of entering college.
• Almost four out of ten students diagnosed with an emotional disturbance were held back a grade at least once;
• Students reporting higher levels of psychosocial stress had significantly lower academic scores.

The School's Role

The Surgeon General's report recognized schools as one of the most important potential locations for the provision of mental health services to children in partnership with community agencies. A broader vision of mental health in schools is provided by Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor, Co-Directors of the Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA. They identify a number of potential roles for schools:

• Promoting social-emotional development, preventing mental health and psychosocial problems, and enhancing resiliency;
• Providing services to intervene as early as possible after the onset of learning, behavioral and/or emotional problems;
• Enhancing the mental health of families and school staff;
• Increasing the capacity of school staff to address barriers to learning and promote healthy development;
• Developing school policies on matters that affect mental health, including high-stakes testing and practices that result in bullying, alienation and student disengagement from learning;
• Creating a comprehensive and cohesive continuum of school-community interventions to address barriers to learning and promote healthy development.