Pushing kids to overachieve will impact mental health, warns psychologist

WESTERN BUREAU:

Clinical psychologist Georgia Rose has warned that students who are pressured to secure high academic achievements, particularly without being given time to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, will be put at risk of developing mental disorders later in life.

Rose was speaking at a Gleaner Editors’ Forum held under the theme ‘Education in limbo’, ahead of the Jamaica Teachers’ Association’s (JTA) upcoming annual general conference for 2022.

“We talk about what are the plans in place to mitigate against the acts of violence and aggression that we saw [among students] and the emotional dysregulation among our children in schools, but we will continue to see instances of emotional dysregulation where children are acting out in very violent ways because we have not given them the space to heal from the trauma of COVID-19. We had children carrying heavy subjects, we piled on the work even more and had multiple courses having similar deadlines, and there was no play or quiet time,” said Rose.

“I speak about the fact that we have children going to bed at midnight and 1 a.m. because they have schoolwork to complete, and this is our high achievers. I personally think something is wrong with that system that requires children to be up that late to complete the work, as it therefore means the work is too much,” Rose added. “I do not think we have taken into account their mental health needs. We want them to be the smartest and that seems to be our only focus and thrust, and the children who do not keep on target or meet the pace are left behind, and we do not feel bad about leaving them behind.”

Citing a World Health Organization (WHO) report on impacts of the pandemic on children’s mental health and the costs to the society, Rose said that the effects will eventually arise, if not immediately.

RECIPE FOR DISASTER

“ The Gleaner prints these articles about our high achievers, our children who have done well in the Primary Exit Profile, in CXC and CAPE, and we interview these children and they speak about spending late nights up burning the proverbial midnight oil, how they did not play, socialise and interact, and we think that is a good thing. But it is a recipe for disaster,” said Rose.

“You won’t see the disaster now, you won’t see it in two years, but, in keeping with the WHO’s predictions, there is going to be a significant increase in mental health illness and we will have a crisis. The research tells us that a childhood that is fragmented, that is exposed to incessant or chronic stress, is at risk for the development of mental illness in their adult years, and I dare say our children are at risk.”

The WHO report identifies adolescents and young adults among specific high-risk groups to be targeted for reduction of psychological distress, and recommends that mental health and resilience capacity should be continuously monitored during and after the pandemic.

In October of that year, UNICEF indicated that one in five young people, ages 15 to 24, surveyed across 21 countries, reported feelings of depression or loss of interest in doing things. Additionally, one in seven children had been affected by COVID-19 lockdowns, with disruptions to daily routines and education and concerns for family income and health leaving many with feelings of fear or anger.

Meanwhile, Richard Dennis, regional advisor for the National Parent-Teacher Association of Jamaica’s Region Four, said that greater communication needs to be held with parents so that they can understand the issues that will impact their children.

“Having 13 subjects is all well and good, and it is an achievement and we are not frowning on it. But five subjects can get you somewhere too. We have to get our parents to understand the issues, because some of them do not understand, and we have to become that voice that can communicate and spread that kind of information,” said Dennis. “A lot of the communication goes to the students, and that is something we are trying to change, as we want to say ‘communicate with us, the parents, and not to the students’.”