Figure 13.1. Percent of adults aged 18 years and over who experienced serious psychological distress during the past 30 days: United States, 1997–2002

NOTES: Six psychological distress questions are included in the Sample Adult Core component.  These questions ask how often a respondent experienced symptoms of psychological distress during the past 30 days.  The response codes (0-4) of the six items for each person are summed to yield a scale with a 0-24 range.  A value of 13 or more for this scale is used here to define serious psychological distress (1). 

DATA SOURCE: Sample Adult Core component of the 1997-2002 National Health Interview Surveys. The estimate for 2002 was based on data collected from January through June.

From January through June 2002, 2.9% (95% CI = 2.6% - 3.1%) of adults aged 18 years and over experienced serious psychological distress during the past 30 days.

The percent of adults who experienced serious psychological distress during the past 30 days significantly declined from 3.3% in 1997 to 2.4 percent in 1999, and then increased from 2.4% in 1999 to 2.7% in 2000 and 3.2% in 2001.

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