Use of Mental Health Services and Treatment Among Children

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) show that approximately half (50.6 percent) of children with mental disorders had received treatment for their disorder within the past year. There were some differences between treatment rates depending on the category of mental disorder. Children with anxiety disorders were the least likely (32.2 percent) to have received treatment in the past year.

 

Use of mental health services and treatment among children.  Mental health service use for children ages 8-15 in terms of percent with disorder

Merikangas KR, He JP, Brody D, Fisher PW, Bourdon K, Koretz DS. Prevalence and treatment of mental disorders among US children in the 2001-2004 NHANES. Pediatrics. 2010, 125(1):75-81

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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) examines depression treatment among youth ages 12 to 17 each year through the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). NSDUH's most recent data are for 2008 and show that 37.7 percent of youth with depression received treatment for their disorder. The chart below shows this estimate, as well as those from the preceding 4 years.

 


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