[Asia Economy (Daejeon) Reporter Jeong Il-woong] A survey revealed that the risk of mental illness among young people in the Daejeon area is higher than that of middle-aged people.
On the 20th, the city announced the results of the "Daejeon Youth Mental Health Survey" containing this information.
The survey was recently conducted on 1,000 local youths, 300 local middle-aged people, and 300 youths in Seoul to identify the prevalence of high-risk groups for mental illness indicators (meaning the proportion of individuals with a specific condition within the target group) and factors related to mental health.
The mental illness indicators included nine categories: ▲early psychosis ▲bipolar disorder ▲major depressive disorder ▲generalized anxiety disorder ▲post-traumatic stress disorder ▲internet gaming disorder ▲alcohol use disorder ▲gambling addiction ▲high stress risk.
Among these, the prevalence of high-risk groups for mental illness among local youths was highest for major depressive disorder at 21.0%, followed by post-traumatic stress disorder at 17.6%, early psychosis at 17.0%, and alcohol use disorder at 16.5%.
This is generally higher than the middle-aged group's rates of major depressive disorder at 14.3%, post-traumatic stress disorder at 11.7%, alcohol addiction at 11.3%, and internet gaming disorder at 4.7%, except for early psychosis, where the middle-aged group showed 18.7%, higher than the youth's 17%.
Early psychosis refers to the period from the prodromal phase, which includes adolescents or adults aged 15 to 30 before clear psychotic symptoms appear, up to a maximum of five years from the onset of clear symptoms.
The prevalence of high-risk groups for early psychosis among youths in Daejeon was 17%, which is 6.3 percentage points lower than Seoul's 23.3%, and the city analyzed that there was no significant difference between Seoul youths and local youths in other mental illnesses.
In the indicator survey, it was also notable that the proportion of high-risk groups for alcohol use disorder among local young women was 12.1%, showing little difference from men at 12%. Typically, women are known to have a lower prevalence of alcohol use disorder than men, but this survey showed comparable figures.
The risk of mental illness was higher with lower income. The prevalence of high-risk groups for major depressive disorder was 29.9% for households with a monthly average income of 1.99 million KRW or less, 19.6% for 2 million to 3.99 million KRW, and 17.3% for 4 million KRW or more.
Youths in Daejeon responded that suicide is the most serious mental health problem (82.0%). Additionally, 34.7% of youths experienced suicidal thoughts, but only 12.1% of those who experienced suicidal thoughts used mental health services such as professional counseling and treatment, indicating an urgent need for countermeasures.
The problems causing psychological and mental distress were ranked as economic problems (50.0%), workplace or job-related problems (43.7%), and family problems (20.0%).
Lee Dong-han, Director of the City Health and Welfare Bureau, said, "Based on the research results, we will establish grounds for providing medical and welfare services for youth mental health issues," adding, "Through this, youths in mental crises will be able to receive appropriate mental health services in a timely manner."
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