Children as they grow undergo many physical, mental, and emotional changes. In this process in which they learn to adapt and relate to the changing world around them, each child matures at their own pace. Therefore, each child has his own learning pace and what is normal for one child is not. For this reason, the criterion when determining if there is a significant psychological problem is whether the child's social, family or physical functioning is affected, as well as the age and symptoms.
Not treating psychopathology in time increases the risk of increasing severity and developing other mental disorders, that is, it carries worse consequences in the adult life of the child. In this Psychology-Online article we show you the most common mental illnesses in childhood.
Some of the most common disorders in childhood are:
Neurodevelopmental disorders
Neurodevelopmental disorders typically begin in the early period of development. These types of disorders are characterized by deficits in the child's development that affect the
Neurodevelopmental disorders include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, learning disabilities, intellectual disability, conduct disorders, cerebral palsy, and vision or smell disturbances.
Anxiety disorders
Children with anxiety disorders respond to certain changes or situations with fear and fear, as well as physical signs of anxiety and nervousness, such as a racing heartbeat and sweating.
Some examples are the obsessive compulsive disorder, social anxiety, post-traumatic stress and selective mutism.
Disruptive behavior disorders
Children with these types of disorders tend to defy the rules and often misbehave in structured settings such as school.
Eating disorders
These disorders include intense emotions and attitudes, as well as unusual behaviors related to weight or food. Anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, purging disorder are some eating disorders that can occur during childhood.
Elimination disorders
They are disorders that affect behavior related to using the bathroom. Bed-wetting is the most common of the elimination disorders.
Affective disorders
These disorders involve persistent feelings of sadness and / or sudden mood swings. Depression and bipolar disorder are part of this group of disorders.
A more recent diagnosis is Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder which is a medical condition childhood and adolescence involving chronic or persistent irritability and frequent outbursts of anger.
Tic Disorders
These disorders cause a person to make sudden, involuntary, and often meaningless, repeated movements and sounds called tics.
Basic motor tics would be eye blinking, facial grimacing, shrugging, neck stretching, mouth movements, jaw clenching, and spitting. Simple vocal tics consist of sounds that do not make words, such as clearing the throat, grunting, coughing, and sniffing.
There is no single cause when a child develops a mental disorder, but rather a set of multi-causal factors. There are several factors that have been associated with the presence of psychopathology in children:
- Biological factors: These factors are related to neurotransmitters in the child's brain. An imbalance in the level of neurotransmitters can indicate the presence of a mental disorder. Serotonin levels can be a factor to consider.
- Environmental factors: the context in which the child develops has effects on his development. Stressful events (trauma, abuse…) can affect the child's abilities and increase the risk of developing a mental disorder.
- Psychological factors: low self-esteem or problems with body image affect how children perceive themselves and can increase the risk of psychopathology.
- Brain injuries: they can increase the risk of mental disorder in the child. Brain injury can be caused by accident, abuse, etc.
The presence of mental disorders is more serious in low- and middle-income countries, since in these countries there are more children than adults, together with the lack of infrastructure and resources to face and treat this type of case. Furthermore, a significant proportion of the population considers mental illness to be a stigma social or a taboo subject, since it is difficult for them to understand them and they prefer to hide them from society. This means that children do not receive any treatment, in some cases being displaced from society, and as a consequence, with a worsening of their psychological pathology.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
