The most recent report from the Cali Mental Health Observatory revealed that 20% of the students of official educational institutions in Cali are at high risk of mental health, while 70% have a medium risk and only the remaining 10% are at a low risk level.
To reach these figures, 619 monitoring activities were carried out in seven official educational institutions during the year 2022, with students between the ages of 10 and 18.
The level of mental health risk was established based on reports of consumption of psychoactive substances, cases of violence, and self-inflicted injuries.
Those who had already reached the age of majority presented the most alarming figures: 81% of 18-year-old students registered a high risk.
Of those between the ages of 13 and 17, the majority were found to be at medium risk. In minors, from 10 to 12 years old, lower risk levels were detected.
critical landscape
“We are facing a critical scenario. We know that mental health problems threaten the lives of students: there have been more and more suicide attempts, suicides, bullying and other indicators that speak not only of the deterioration of the well-being of students, but of school coexistence. Another worrying aspect is the mental health of teachers, which indicates that mental health problems affect the entire educational community,” said Juliana Ruiz Patiño, director of the Observatory of Educational Realities (ORE), of Icesi University.
Drastic changes in study routines, difficulties in carrying out academic activities, aggressive reactions, withdrawal and fluctuating mood are warning signs.
In Cali, the reports of risk factors in mental health had a significant increase between 2021 and 2022.
For example, during the last four months of 2021, the Cali Public Health Secretariat received 17 reports for the use of psychoactive substances in official educational institutions, a figure that rose to 306 reports during the first four months of 2022.
The most consumed substances are marijuana (21%), vaping (10%), Clonazepam (3%) and alcoholic beverages (2%).
There was also an increase in cases of attempted suicide among the school population: 30 during the last four months of 2021 and 186 in the first four months of 2022.
In the same period, the attacks went from 11 to 441 reports; mistreatment, from 10 to 78 reports, and sexual violence, from 37 to 135 reports.
“From the Observatory of Educational Realities we are trying to vindicate the social value of the school as an environment of care and protection. Efforts should not only be focused on academic excellence, but also on the dimension of mental health and socio-emotional development of the entire educational community. For this reason, it is necessary to carry out awareness campaigns and early detection of cases, as well as coordination with health institutions to prevent more unfortunate situations from occurring,” added Ruiz Patiño.
To deal with this problem, the Observatory of Educational Realities recommends building schools as safe and protective environments, where friendly and student-centered learning spaces are promoted; Also, create and apply risk identification mechanisms, both in the family, social and institutional environment, as well as map and promote care routes.
Finally, it is important that the socio-emotional issue is transversal in curricular training, as well as addressing mental health risks in the entire educational community, including teachers.