Contact:
Michael Leidig
Phone: +43 (0)1 917 51 18
E-Mail: leidig@newsfox.com
- Advice
- Health
- Mental
- Psychology
| Pressbox | 
|
Vienna (pte040/19.03.2013/17:04) - Carers at the Bivak youth advice centre in Salzburg (Austria) have noticed a clear increase in the number of 14-to-23-year-olds suffering from psychological illnesses such as eating disorders or borderline personality disorders.
The Bivak youth advice centre has been going for 40 years and provides support to some 300 young girls and boys each year.
Amongst other things, Bivak offers free internet and advice to youths looking for jobs; accompany them to other specialised centres, institutions or ministry departments according to the situation.
The advice team at Bivak has to deal with a wide range of cases, from under-age smoking (under 16 years old) up to serious cases of violence or resolving family conflicts.
The director of the advice centre Pavo Janjic Baumgartner said: "In the 70s, the most common problem was that the youngsters had become delinquents.
"Now, the advice hub is mostly busy with serious cases of psychological illnesses, including eating disorders and borderline personality disorders. The latter is characterised by an emotional instability, and we also have to deal with self-harming."
The "Youth Study" carried out by petrol-giant Shell in 2010 shows that the youngsters are generally more optimistic than seven years ago, with 59 percent of the youths who answered the survey saying they were optimistic about their future prospects.
However, 67 percent of respondents from socially disadvantaged backgrounds said they were either unsure or pessimistic about their future.
The director of the advice centre Baumgartner said: "There are also losers in this survey.
"Some respondents come from difficult background and need a lot of help", he added.
(end)
|
|
