mental illness is real, and everyone can get this dsease

1. Mental Illness

2. • Health conditions involving changes in emotion,
thinking or behavior (or a combination of these)
• Involves effective functioning in daily activities
resulting in:
oProductive activities (such as in work, school or caregiving).
oHealthy relationships.
oAbility to adapt to change and cope with adversity.
• Mental illness does not discriminate; it can affect
anyone regardless of your age, gender, geography,
income, social status, race, ethnicity,
religion/spirituality, sexual orientation, background or
other aspect of cultural identity. While mental illness
can occur at any age, three-fourths of all mental

4. Implications and Contribution
• Two of 3 young mothers have at least one mental health
problem.
• Rates of anxiety disorders, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity
disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and conduct disorders
in young mothers were 2 to 4 times higher than in mothers
aged >21 years and in young women without children.
• Women who become pregnant at a young grow up in deprived
socioeconomic conditions and experience higher levels of
interpersonal conflict, suboptimal parental care, and abuse.

5. • These young women are also at a greater risk of
performing more poorly in school and in the workplace
to continue to experience socioeconomic disadvantage
in adult life and have limited social supports.
• Adolescent mothers may exhibit more negative affect
in their interactions with their own children , and
their offspring are at increased risk for emotional and
behavioral problems , intellectual disabilities, school
failure , and accidental injury.

6. Method
The Young Mothers Health Study (YMHS)
• Recruited 450 young mothers (aged 15- 20 years) and 100 older comparison
mothers (aged >20 years at first delivery) from Hamilton, Niagara,
Haldimand-Norfolk, and Brant counties between 2012 and 2015.
• Among young mothers, 92% of participants had one child, and 98% of mature
mothers had only a single child at the time of study recruitment.
Ontario Child Health Study
• Adolescent women who were aged 15e17 years and who had not yet
had a child (N ¼ 630) were age matched with young mothers and
completed the MINI-KID in the context of the 2014 OCHS.
Outcome measure: mental disorders assessed using the MINI-KID

7. Result
• The average age of YMHS young mothers was
18.6 years, the average age of the older
comparison mothers was 27 years.
• Young mothers reported at least one mental
health problem, and 37% had more than one.
Young mothers nearly 4 times higher of older
comparison mothers.
• Compared To OCHS 15- to 17-year-old women
without children, the sub-sample of 15-to 17-
year-old young mothers had higher of being

8. • In addition to the substantial hormonal changes that
accompany the birth of a child, normative levels of novelty
and sensation-seeking are accompanied by a still evolving
ability to predict the probable consequences of one's actions,
adopt others' perspectives, and regulate emotions.
• This situation is further strained by the social changes (e.g.,
isolation) and the higher levels of responsibility that
accompany raising a child. These stresses are unfortunately
less frequently balanced in young mothers by the individual
resilience factors (supports and educational attainment)
present in many mothers who delay childbearing .
• Young mothers are also often exposed to significant

9. Conclusion
• Given the potential chronicity of these problems and
their comorbidity as well as their interference with
functioning in interpersonal, educational, and
vocational realms, they may not only portend ongoing
health difficulties in these women but also an
increased risk for cognitive, emotional, and behavioral
problems in their offspring.

10. Thank You
Mental illness is nothing to be ashamed
of. It is a medical problem, just like
heart disease or diabetes.