Educators call for more attention to the prevention and treatment of depression among adolescents

A patient suffering from depression waits to see the doctor in a hospital in Taiyuan City, north China's Shanxi Province. Photo: Xinhua

At this year's two sessions, many lawmakers have called for more attention to be given to the prevention and treatment of depression among adolescents and encouraging the establishment of social support systems and an artificial intelligence (AI) platform to safeguard the mental health of adolescents.

One of the proposers, Yu Minhong, a member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee and chairman of New Oriental Education and Technology Group, submitted a proposal on the prevention and treatment of adolescent depression to the ongoing conference this year, thepaper.cn reported.

According to the China National Mental Health Development Report (2019-20), the detection rate of depression among adolescents in 2020 was 24.6 percent among which mild and major depression were 17.2 percent and 7.4 percent, Yu cited in his proposal.

In 2009, the rate was separately 16.8 percent and 7.4 percent, according to the report.

Moreover, some adolescent suicide cases have also been linked to depressive symptoms or depression, Yu noted in his proposal.

Yu proposed to truly reduce the "twin pressures" of homework and tutoring on children. Public organizations regarding charity and philanthropies are encouraged to take the lead in establishing a third system of mental illness treatment - the social support system. Besides, special attention should be paid to improving the ability of faculty members to identify students' mental and psychological problems and to apply professional knowledge to deal with these problems.

Focusing on the same issue, Liu Qingfeng, a deputy to the 13th National People's Congress and board chairman of iFlytek, a leading Chinese AI firm, proposed to enhance screening for depression among youngsters and include the payment in medical insurance.

Liu also suggested introducing AI technologies in managing depression and other psychological diseases and establish an AI platform to screen these problems for nationwide elementary and middle schools. The treatment fee should also be included in medical insurance, Liu suggests.