The positioning of mental health of children and young people in the Republic of Croatia

Abstract

https://doi.org/10.21860/j.13.2.6

Children and young people deserve special attention when we talk about health, among other things, because of the connection between childhood and adolescence resources on the impact of well-being in adulthood where we expect productive individuals who contribute responsibly to the community in all aspects, including both social and economic. Mental health has been set as a public health priority on a world scale. Globally, 10-20% of children and adolescents experience some form of mental disorder with half of them beginning at the age of 14 and three-quarters by their mid-20s. When discussing children and young people’s mental health as a social reality, we are discussing a social issue that needs to be solved on a societal level in a manner that is appropriate, resolves confusion and builds perspective. This paper gives an overview of the investment in health, children and families, an overview of the content of strategic documents for mental health, children and youth policies, as well as the issue of defining and monitoring the state of mental health. All the aforementioned arguments also favor the claim that investments in the mental health of children and youth in the Republic of Croatia still aren’t on a sufficient enough level to achieve higher levels of success.
Keywords: mental health, children and young people, public policy, investing in children.