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More and more children are being forcibly cared for in psychiatry, reports Sweden’s Radio Ekot, which has taken stock of statistics from the National Board of Health and Welfare.
The number of children aged 0–17 who were in compulsory care increased from 207 people in 2011 to 352 people in 2020.
The increase is partly due to improved reporting from the regions, but there are also signs that serious mental illness has increased, says Martin Rödholm, project manager at Sweden’s Municipalities and Regions (SKR).
According to him, there are two groups that stand out in the statistics. It is partly about severe eating disorders, which are believed to have increased as a result of the isolation during the pandemic, and partly about psychotic conditions where many unaccompanied refugee children needed care after a few years in Sweden.