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SCMP Editorial

Hong Kong is still counting the cost of social unrest followed by a pandemic and draconian anti-social measures taken to combat it.
The latest reckoning concerns our children. It adds to emerging evidence that their mental health came under pressure, which is still exacting a toll.
This is not surprising given that prolonged school closures deprived them of developmentally important social interaction. That is not without consequences, sometimes serious.
Last month, we reported on a city-wide survey for the government by Chinese University (CUHK) researchers that found nearly one in four children and adolescents had at least one mental health disorder in 2023.
‘People become fear-based’: counselling lonely, depressed men in Hong Kong
Since then, the Department of Health has released the results of a survey of student welfare covering 330,000 children. It found an increased number needed professional help to deal with psychosocial and behavioural problems.
Disturbingly, it found 1.6 per cent of Hong Kong secondary pupils tried to take their own lives in the last academic year and 3.7 per cent considered killing themselves.
The latter figure was almost 50 per cent up on the rate for 2018-19. To be fair, the survey results reflect a global trend; Hong Kong is not the worst example. But they raise concerns that must be addressed.


A self-administered questionnaire by youngsters who went to student health service centres showed that 2.8 per cent of all respondents had considered suicide in the previous 12 months and 1.3 per cent had tried to take their own lives. The survey included 233,000 primary school pupils and 97,000 secondary.
The results show young people still struggle with the challenges of a divided society and lockdowns. Some social media, including influencers and online bullying, do nothing to make life any easier.
Lee Yi-ying, a principal and chairwoman of the Subsidised Secondary School Council, says some pupils might have problems adapting to the pace of post-pandemic life compared to lockdowns.
Professor Paul Yip Siu-fai of the University of Hong Kong, who has researched suicide, says secondary pupils face more complicated problems, such as bullying or relationships and academic pressure.
Hong Kong charity aims to expand free counselling amid spike in youth suicides
The CUHK study found that many parents did not know how to seek professional help. So it is good to hear from the department that professionals in student health services have paid extra attention to pupils’ emotional and mental health and provided counselling and advice.
Teachers face many demands on their attention. But the surveys suggest more focus on mental health that prompted early intervention could benefit many students.
The government should heed the advice of a former chairman of the Advisory Committee on Mental Health, Wong Yan-lun, and consider how to ensure teachers get more time for it.


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Hong Kong youth

Social unrest and the pandemic are over but ill effects linger in Hong Kong

Many of Hong Kong’s youth have been struggling with their mental health in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. Photo: Shutterstock

1.6% of Hong Kong secondary school pupils tried to take their own lives last year and 3.7% considered it, major survey finds

The health department says an increased number of schoolchildren have needed professional help to deal with psychosocial and behavioural problems. Photo: Shutterstock

Authorities have stepped up help for youngsters after evidence of a rise in psychiatric problems and suicides. Photo: Dickson Lee

The department’s latest annual health assessment survey also found that schoolchildren’s eyesight had deteriorated Photo: Tory Ho

Hongkongers struggling with mental health issues can call new government hotline for 24-hour help

Afternoon sunlight in Ngau Tau Kok. The hotline was mentioned in last year’s policy address among initiatives to tackle mental health issues. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Secretary for Health Lo Chung-mau at an event for the hotline launch. He says immediate referrals will be given to users for more specific services and follow-up. Photo: Elson LI

How loneliness and depression drive people – especially men – to seek mental health support, and differences between the sexes and generations

In Hong Kong, and in the US, there is still stigma attached to seeking mental health support, especially among older generations. Photo: Shutterstock

In Hong Kong, clients are aware of what they are feeling, says psychologist Michael Beckham. They want to know how to address it and how to change it. Photo: Shutterstock

Clinical psychologist Michael Beckham has noticed differences in the way people perceive and act on their feelings in different cultures. Photo: Michael Beckham

“People, almost always men, are reaching out at the action stage, reacting to what is happening in their life. They want cut and dried solutions,” Beckham says. Photo: Shutterstock 

“With mental health, nobody wants to do anything about it until the wheels come off,” says Hong Kong general practitioner Dr Charles Brantly. Photo: Dr Charles Brantly

Calling someone to catch up “can make you feel good, and you are proud of what you have done”, says Dr Charles Brantly. Photo: Shutterstock

Hong Kong mental health charity Mind HK seeks to expand free counselling scheme through fundraiser amid spike in youth suicides

Well-being practitioners trained under Mind HK’s iACT programme. The charity is aiming to raise HK$175,000 by the end of the year. Photo: Handout

Carol Liang, deputy CEO of Mind HK, says low intensity mental health services has a 70 per cent recovery rate among those aged 18 to 24. Photo: Handout 

There were at least 31 suspected suicides among primary and secondary pupils in the first 11 months of 2023. Photo: Xiaomei Chen

Jacky Chow, 24, underwent training to become a wellbeing practitioner as part of Mind HK’s Improving Access to Communities Therapies (iACT) programme. Photo: Handout

Opinion

Comment

Young people, students in particular, are finding it hard to cope with Hong Kong’s new social landscape, making it even more important that mental health support is enhanced


Young people, students in particular, are finding it hard to cope with Hong Kong’s new social landscape, making it even more important that mental health support is enhanced.
