Youth Mental Health: Trends and Outlook

Prevalence Rates - Any Mental Illness: SAMHSA, 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Table 10.1B – Any Mental Illness in Past Year among Persons Aged 18 or Older, by Demographic Characteristics: Percentages, 2008-2018

• NOTE: Any Mental Illness can include anxiety disorders, psychotic disorders and symptoms, mood and adjustment disorders, emotional and behavioral disorders, eating disorders, and personality disorders.

Lifetime Mental Illness Percentage: “Lifetime prevalence and age-of-onset distributions of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication,” Arch Gen Psychiatry, 2005

Anxiety Prevalence: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Mental Health. (2017). Any Anxiety Disorder.

Rates of Major Depression: SAMHSA, 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Table 10.32B – Major Depressive Episode in Past Year among Persons Aged 18 or Older, by Demographic Characteristics: Percentages, 2005-2018

Depression is Underdiagnosed in Children and Adolescents: Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Major Depression Treatment Rates:

• Age 12-17: SAMHSA, 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Table 11.4B – Receipt of Treatment for Depression in Past Year among Persons Aged 12 to 17 with Major Depressive Episode in Past Year, by Demographic Characteristics: Percentages, 2004-2018
• Ages 18-25 and 26+: SAMHSA, 2018 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. Table 10.34B – Received Treatment for Depression in Past Year among Persons Aged 18 or Older with Major Depressive Episode in Past Year, by Demographic Characteristics: Percentages, 2009-2018

Mental Illness is a Risk Factor for Suicide: According to the CDC, research has found that 46% of people who die by suicide had a known mental health condition. National Alliance for Mental Illness (NAMI) provides a list of other things may put a person at risk of suicide, including:

• A family history of suicide
• Substance abuse - drugs can create mental highs and lows that worsen suicidal thoughts
• Intoxication - more than 1 in 3 people who die from suicide are under the influence of alcohol at the time of death
• Access to firearms
• A serious or chronic medical illness
• Gender - although more women than men attempt suicide, men are nearly 4x more likely to die by suicide
• A history of trauma or abuse
• Prolonged stress
• A recent tragedy or loss

Suicide Death Rate by Age Group: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, Death Rates Due to Suicide and Homicide Among Persons Aged 10–24: United States, 2000–2017

Suicide as Second-leading Cause of Death: CDC, Leading Causes of Death by Age Group, United States - 2016

Suicide and LGBT Youth: The Trevor Project, National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health 2019

Strategies to Improve Mental Health:

• HHS, Resources to Support Adolescent Mental Health
• Mayo Clinic, Teen Depression, Diagnosis and Treatment
  • NOTE: Complementary/alternative medicine may include relaxation techniques, meditation, yoga and art therapy, among other practices. Mayo Clinic notes that these therapies should not be considered a replacement for conventional medical treatment or psychotherapy but that these methods may be helpful when used in addition to medication and psychotherapy.

Strategies to Improve Suicide Prevention:

• American Psychological Association, Teen Suicide is Preventable
• Trust for America’s Health, Pain in the Nation Series - Building a National Resilience Strategy Addressing a Crisis: Cross-Sector Strategies to Prevent Adolescent Substance Use and Suicide
• ReportingonSuicide.org, Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide

Regis College - Guide to Mental Health Screening in Schools