Offical One in 10 Children is Mentally Ill

ONE IN 10 children suffers mental illness, according to official figures.

The most detailed survey ever of young people’s mental health found huge numbers with disorders ranging from depression to hyperactivity.

The study, carried out last year, found boys were far more likely to be victims, particularly

five- to 10-year-olds. Children

from stable family backgrounds were less affected: the rate in two-parent families was eight per cent compared with 16 per cent in lone parent families.

Families with stepchildren were more likely to suffer. Children of parents with no qualifications

were four times more

likely to be affected than those whose parents had a degree.

Professor Robert Goodman of the Institute of Psychiatry, who led the study, said mental illness was the biggest child health challenge. But he added that the rate of mental illness had not risen since 1999, suggesting the growth seen in the

past 30 years had peaked.

. The number of divorces in Britain is up for the fourth year running.

There were 167,116 last year, a slight rise on 2003. Divorces in England and Wales actually fell – but this was outstripped by a rise in divorces in Scotland and Northern Ireland.