Exploring harms experienced by children aged 7 to 11 using ambulance attendance data: a 6-year comparison with adolescents aged 12–17

3 Oct 2018

This article gives an overview of research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health in July 2018.

The focus of youth services has typically centred on young people aged 12–25 years. The mental health, substance ingestion and self-harm related behaviours and thoughts in children aged under 12 are less well-described and understood.

This study describes the characteristics of ambulance attendances related to mental health symptomology, or self-injurious behaviour, or substance ingestion, for children aged 7–11, and compared them to a group of older adolescents aged 12–17.

Using ambulance attendance data, the study shows that a cohort of children and young adolescents are experiencing serious and increasing harms related to mental health, self-injurious behaviour and substance ingestion. Importantly, the characteristics of harms in this age group are distinct from older adolescents.

Authors: Debbie Scott, Rose Crossin, Rowan Ogeil, Karen Smith, Dan I. Lubman

Read the summary article at Emerging Minds.

Download the journal article: Exploring Harms Experienced by Children Aged 7 to 11 Using Ambulance Attendance Data: A 6-Year Comparison with Adolescents Aged 12–17 (2MB PDF).