The Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH-Malta) is embarking on a research initiative aimed at studying the prevalence of mental disorders in the local child and adolescent population. It will be carried out across Malta and Gozo and is aimed at obtaining an up-to-date overview of the current situation. 

Mental disorders are one of the main causes of burden of disease worldwide. The World Health Organisation estimated that over half of all cases of mental disorders would have started before 14 years of age, with the majority of these remain untreated well into adulthood.

Moreover, the greater pressures on families and young people these days may increase psychological distress. Emotional difficulties among young people is associated with educational failure, school expulsion, occupational failure, intimate relationship breakdown and criminality.

The consequences of not addressing adolescent mental health difficulties extend to adulthood, impairing both physical and mental health

Additionally, the consequences of not addressing adolescent mental health difficulties extend to adulthood, impairing both physical and mental health and limiting opportunities to lead a self-satisfying life as adults.

Effective interventions to reduce childhood psychological difficulties may, therefore, be a particularly potent lever to improve society at large. Moreover, epidemiological data is required as a base on which to further improve and develop child and young people’s services.

The Malta Mental Health Strategy published in December 2018 acknowledged that there is a lack of this data locally.

This study will be filling the lacunae and provide baseline information, from which service development for young people can be adapted to meet their needs. Improved services would impact the quality of  live of young people and have a positive effect on society.

Rosemarie Sacco, a psychiatric registrar who is completing her training in the UK, will be visiting Malta to promote and conduct the study herself and to facilitate the recruitment of participants. 

Schools are being encouraged to participate and promote the actual recruitment by using their various media platforms as well. 

The study is targeted at youngpeople over the age of 11 as well as the parents themselves.

As a voluntary organisation, ACAMH strives to raise awareness and standards in delivering mental health services and resources to children and young people.

ACAMH thus hopes to improve the lives of young people and relationships between members of the Maltese society.

The interviews will be conducted by health professionals who volunteer to help.

Overview and aims of study

The study will include a random sample of 400 children and young persons aged five to 16 years coming from government, church and private schools in different regions across Malta.

The individuals chosen through the sample will be screened for mental disorders and asked about their circumstances. This will be done through face-to-face interviews with the parent and the child. The child’s teacher will also be contacted to fill in a questionnaire about the individual in question.

The interviews will be conducted by health professionals who volunteer to help and who would have attended a two-day training course on how to conduct the interviews.  The study has manifold aims which will address lacunae that professionals have to encounter.  

Collecting, comparing and contrasting data and the analysis of results will help formulate remedial action and demonstrate to youngsters how to improve their lives and achieve fulfilment. 

It will help them deal with school, work-place and relationship problems and aid them in overcoming life’s ups and downs.  This would generally enrich society as a multiplier long-term positive effect would have been put into motion. 

All of this will be the foundation upon which the government, NGOs and the private sector can tailor services to meet young people’s needs.

The aim is to plan similar projects every few years to ensure that needs are kept under check and the services remain relevant.