Mental Health Surveillance Among Children — United States, 2013–2019

Abstract

Mental health encompasses a range of mental, emotional, social, and behavioral functioning and occurs along a continuum from good to poor. Previous research has documented that mental health among children and adolescents is associated with immediate and long-term physical health and chronic disease, health risk behaviors, social relationships, education, and employment. Public health surveillance of children's mental health can be used to monitor trends in prevalence across populations, increase knowledge about demographic and geographic differences, and support decision-making about prevention and intervention. Numerous federal data systems collect data on various indicators of children's mental health, particularly mental disorders. The 2013-2019 data from these data systems show that mental disorders begin in early childhood and affect children with a range of sociodemographic characteristics. During this period, the most prevalent disorders diagnosed among U.S. children and adolescents aged 3-17 years were attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and anxiety, each affecting approximately one in 11 (9.4%-9.8%) children. Among children and adolescents aged 12-17 years, one fifth (20.9%) had ever experienced a major depressive episode. Among high school students in 2019, 36.7% reported persistently feeling sad or hopeless in the past year, and 18.8% had seriously considered attempting suicide. Approximately seven in 100,000 persons aged 10-19 years died by suicide in 2018 and 2019. Among children and adolescents aged 3-17 years, 9.6%-10.1% had received mental health services, and 7.8% of all children and adolescents aged 3-17 years had taken medication for mental health problems during the past year, based on parent report. Approximately one in four children and adolescents aged 12-17 years reported having received mental health services during the past year. In federal data systems, data on positive indicators of mental health (e.g., resilience) are limited. Although no comprehensive surveillance system for children's mental health exists and no single indicator can be used to define the mental health of children or to identify the overall number of children with mental disorders, these data confirm that mental disorders among children continue to be a substantial public health concern. These findings can be used by public health professionals, health care providers, state health officials, policymakers, and educators to understand the prevalence of specific mental disorders and other indicators of mental health and the challenges related to mental health surveillance. US Department of Health and Human Services/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provisions for children with preexisting conditions (e.g., the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act) (51-54).This report updates and expands the 2013 surveillance report on mental health among children (8). Similar to the 2013 report, this report provides an overview of nine federal surveillance system...

School educational models and child mental health among K-12 students: a scoping review

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The P3 ERP in Relation to General Versus Specific Psychopathology in Early Childhood

“…Externalizing behavior problems, including aggression, impulsivity, and oppositionality, as well as internalizing behavior problems, including depression, anxiety, and obsessions and compulsions, are among the most commonly faced symptoms experienced by children and adults (Forbes et al, 2016). Among children, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety problems, behavior/conduct problems, and depression are the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders, affecting between 4.4% and 9.8% of children (Bitsko et al, 2022). Furthermore, rates of mental illness among youth have been steadily increasing (Twenge et al, 2019).…”

Educator Perspectives on Mental Health Supports at the Primary Level

“…Good mental health in children includes indicators such as the timely achievement of developmental milestones, healthy social and emotional development, and effective regulatory and coping skills…Poor mental health and patterns of symptoms that are severe, are persistent, and cause impairment or dysfunction can develop into mental disorders. (Bitsko et al, 2022 , p. 1)…”

“…Good mental health in children includes indicators such as the timely achievement of developmental milestones, healthy social and emotional development, and effective regulatory and coping skills…Poor mental health and patterns of symptoms that are severe, are persistent, and cause impairment or dysfunction can develop into mental disorders. (Bitsko et al, 2022 , p. 1) In young children, the development of socioemotional skills is associated with executive functioning skills such as decision-making, planning, and problem-solving; emotional skills such as emotion recognition and emotion regulation; social skills such as prosocial skills and establishing peer relationships; and intra-personal skills such as frustration tolerance and managing conflict (Papadopoulou et al, 2014 ). Unfortunately, young children are not immune to mental health challenges (Cree, 2018 ), and increasingly, educators are reporting higher prevalence rates of students with significant socioemotional needs (Danielson et al, 2021 ) and an overall lack of readiness for school (Russo et al, 2019 ).…”