Friday, September 23, 2011

Children's Mental Health: Some Statistics

  •  Mental health problems affect 1 in 5 young people at any given moment (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services).

  • An estimated 66% of all young people with mental health problems are not getting the help they need (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services).

  • Estimates put the number of children with mental disorders between 7.7 million and 12.8 million (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services).

  • Approximately, 1% of adolescent girls develop anorexia nervosa. One in ten cases leads to death due to starvation, cardiac arrest or suicide (National Institute of Mental Health).

  • Studies suggest that children or adolescents are more likely to have an anxiety disorder if their parents have anxiety disorders (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services). 

  • ADHD is the most common psychiatric condition affecting children. Estimates in childhood prevalence rates range from 5 - 10% (Clinical Pediatrics).

  • Recent studies show that, at any given time, 1 in 33 children may have clinical depression. The rate of depression among adolescents may be as high as 1 in 8 (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services).

  • Almost one-third of 6 to 12 year old children diagnosed with major depression will develop bipolar disorder within a few years (Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry). 

  • Of the 100,000 teenagers in juvenile detention, estimates indicate that 60% have behavioral, mental or emotional disorders (Department of Justice).

  • Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 - 24 year olds and the sixth leading cause of death for 5 - 15 years olds (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry). 

  • In 1999, more teenagers and young people died as a result of suicide than cancer, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, birth defects, stroke and chronic lung disease combined (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

  • Between 500,000 and 1 million young people attempt suicide each year (American Association of Suicidology).

Taken from: Mental Health America

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