In June 2021, Telosity and Propeller Insighters polled more than 1,000 U.S. adults across demographics about their perceptions and beliefs on how school-age children are coping with mental health challenges, the impact of mental health education to affect positive outcomes, and their views on the stigmatization of mental health issues.
This study showed two key findings:
- 85% of Americans agree their child(ren) would benefit from mental health services.
- And 67% believe mental health education – such as learning to cope with stress and dealing with social anxiety – should be provided to children in school
The pandemic has highlighted the need for mental health awareness, education and services. “As the emotional long haul of the pandemic chugs on, youth mental health deserves the same attention as that of workers, athletes and celebrities,” says Allyson Plosko, Director of Telosity by Vinaj Ventures. “Children don’t typically have the resources that adults can access and often don’t know who to turn to when they are in distress. Education is not only key to destigmatizing mental health conditions, it can also be a conduit for giving children concrete information on how and where to get help.”
Another key finding of the survey showed that 80% of Americans support reassigning 30 minutes of traditional classroom subject hours to mental health education. The cumulative effect of having dedicated time each week to educate students about brain health will go a long way toward achieving goals of de-stigmatization and education for awareness but also clinical understanding.
76% of lifetime mental illness (brain health conditions) begins in adolescence. That's why we're focused on helping adolescents, their families and communities understand what mental illness is, how to recognize it and what to do about it. We view the data from Telosity by Vinaj Ventures Research as further validation for the need for the work we're doing at the Chase Bjork Foundation.
