State of Mental Health Among US Adolescents

Posted by on February 11, 2013

The State of Mental Health Among US Adolescents

Research shows that approximately one in five adolescents has a diagnosable mental health disorder, a leading cause of disability among this age group.  Child Trends has issued three briefs focusing on adolescent mental health:

* The Mental Health Disorders brief presents the warning signs of mental disorders; describes the types of mental disorders and their prevalence and trends; discusses the consequences and risk of mental disorders; presents treatment options and barriers to accessing mental health care; and provides mental health resources.

http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2013_01_01_AHH_MentalDisordersl.pdf

* The Access to Mental Health Care brief describes barriers to treatment of adolescent mental health disorders; discusses the connection between insurance status and access to mental health treatment; and explains funding for adolescent mental health services.

http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2013_01_01_AHH_MHAccessl.pdf

* The Positive Mental Health: Resilience brief presents key research findings on characteristics that are associated with resilience; describes program strategies that promote resilience; discusses links between resilience and avoidance of risk-taking behaviors; and provides helpful resources on the topic of resilience.

http://www.childtrends.org/Files//Child_Trends-2013_11_01_AHH_Resilience.pdf