Unmet Need for Mental Health Care Among U.S. Children: Variation by Ethnicity and Insurance Status

Abstract

These findings reveal that most children who need a mental health evaluation do not receive services and that Latinos and the uninsured have especially high rates of unmet need relative to other children. Rates of use of mental health services are extremely low among preschool children. Research clarifying the reasons for high rates of unmet need in specific groups can help inform policy and clinical programs.

Yoga for Mental Health of Children: A Short Review

“…Studies showed that young people nowadays are more worried than the equivalent past generations [18][19][20] . Large numbers of young people have been diagnosed to have conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) 2,3 .…”

“…They are challenging themselves with increased stress on education and self-control. Thus, currently there are several psychological disorders among young people such as overthinking and worrying, sleeping problems, hopelessness and stress [19][20][21] . Mental health disorders among children has been shown to be common in the west, and over the world.…”

Does Patient Race/Ethnicity Influence Physician Decision-Making for Diagnosis and Treatment of Childhood Disruptive Behavior Problems?

“…However, as multilevel models of health disparities emphasize, health service use is affected by many interacting factors. Race/ethnic disparities in mental health service use are likely attributed primarily to factors such as socioeconomic factors [8], family help-seeking attitudes and beliefs [37,38], and funding or policy level factors [39]. Emerging support for the significant impact of funding level factors comes from studies demonstrating that race/ethnic disparities in unmet need decreased when insurance coverage is expanded in programs such as SCHIP (given that race/ethnic minority children are over-represented in the populations affected by these expansions) [40].…”

“…While there is unmet need for mental health care for all children, numerous studies indicate that unmet need is significantly greater for racial and ethnic minority youth compared to non-Hispanic White youth [6][7][8]. Evidence suggests that African American, Latino, and Asian American youth are less likely to enter mental health care and even after entering care, youth from racial/ethnic minority groups obtain fewer and/or less intensive services [7,11,12].…”

“…There are more evidence-based treatments (psychosocial and psychopharmacological) for these problems than for other childhood mental health conditions [5]. Unfortunately, racial and ethnic minority youths are less likely than non-Hispanic White youths to receive these treatments given evidence of significant disparities in service access, use, and intensity [6][7][8][9]. These disparities in mental health care have not been explained entirely by potentially confounding factors such as family income, insurance coverage, or clinical need [7,10], suggesting that there are many additional influences that need to be identified and addressed in order to ultimately reduce these disparities.…”