ABSTRACT
Given the complexities in diagnosis and assessment of the disorders and difficulties which may be shown by children and adolescents, great caution must be applied when discussing current incidence rates. The generally accepted professional view has been that whilst moderate difficulties are fairly common, severe mental illness is rare in young children and uncommon in the early teenage years. The Wallace report mentions various features of the school environment which appear to play an important role in a child or young person's healthy development. As a consequence, the pressure will mount still further on all forms of services for children and young people, including residential services, to try and meet these new demands. Finally the alienation and social exclusion of young people from their families, friends, schools and society in general, must also not be overlooked. Health, housing, leisure time, unemployment, the changing nature of the family, the influence of the media and international migration are mentioned.
