More teenagers today are suffering from mental health challenges than physical conditions, including diabetes and asthma, according to a new survey from the National Institute of Mental Health.
Psychiatric problems affect one in five adolescents, and about half will meet the criteria for some disorder at least once in their lifetimes.
- Dr. Kathleen Merikangas and her colleagues analyzed data from the National Comorbidity Study-Adolescent Supplement, which includes surveys of more than 10,000 teenagers ages 13 to 18 years old.
- They found that 11% had mood disorders such as depression or bipolar disorder, 10% had behavioral disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity, and 8% had anxiety.
- All of these were considered "severely impaired."
- Most of these problems began before age 13 years old, except for substance abuse, which started around age 15. Children of parents with less education or who were divorced were at higher risk for mental disorders.
The study appears in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Labels: mental_health, mental_illness, teenagers
Posted By: Troubled Teens