五月是心理健康意识月。对CDC的2019年青少年风险行为问卷调查数据的分析结果显示，超过1/3的高中生在调查前的12个月里都持续地感受到悲伤或绝望，这一比例相比2009年提高了40%。
Bullying may be a risk factor for some students’ poor mental health. The 2019 Indicators of School Crime and Safety reports that in 2017 about 27% of students who reported being bullied indicated that it had a negative effect on how they felt about themselves. Additionally, 19% reported that bullying had a negative effect on their school work and relationships with friends and family. Being involved in bullying in any way (i.e., by bullying others, being bullied, or being both bullied and bullying others) can have lasting negative mental health outcomes, including depression and anxiety. In fact, a CDC report states that children who report both being bullied and bullying others (i.e., bully-victims) have the highest rates of suicide-related behaviors.
我们如何为孩子的心理健康提供支持？
儿童和青少年在去年因为COVID-19疫情而面临着诸多挑战。CDC对5-12岁的儿童和13-19岁的青少年的身体、心理和情绪健康开展了COVID疫情体验问卷调查。此项调查发现，仅接受虚拟教学以及接受虚拟和面对面相结合的学校教学可能导致孩子及其家长的心理和情绪健康面临更高的风险。
Families and schools can help strengthen children’s mental health by fostering connectedness, a sense of being cared for and supported. Connectedness to family, peers, and school is considered a protective factor for children’s and adolescents’ mental health, substance use, and bullying. Children and adolescents who feel connected at school and home are less likely to experience negative health outcomes related to substance use, violence, and mental health. Additionally, children who feel connected at school are more likely to do well in school, stay in school, and have higher test scores. Analyses of National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adults Health data published in Adolescent Connectedness and Adult Health Outcomes suggest that adults who had strong connections when they were young are 48 – 66% less likely to have mental health issues.
家长的支持也是儿童和青少年的重要保护因素之一。家长和看护人可以每天采取措施增强其与孩子之间的联结，并发现孩子可能正陷入心理健康或霸凌问题的预警信号。这包括药物使用的迹象，因为一些青少年可能使用药物来缓解其悲伤、绝望或抑郁的情绪。如果存在这些迹象，家长可以联系学校辅导员或其他医疗保健专业人士。
学校教职员工也可以营造安全和支持性的环境，以帮助预防或解决学生在学校中经历的很多社交和情绪问题。凭借来自家长和学校教职员工的支持，学生的心理健康问题和霸凌问题可以得到解决或预防。