Mental health problems affecting one in seven children in the United States

In the United States, one in seven children could suffer from a mental health problem for which half of them do not receive proper treatment, according to a new study. The results of this revealing study were published in the latest issue of the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

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The team of researchers from the University of Michigan reviewed data from the 2016 National Child Health Survey. This is a national survey conducted by parents of 46.6 million children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years. The results showed that 7.7 million children had at least one mental health problem. There have been cases of depression, anxiety, attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, eating disorders, body dysmorphic disorders, etc. at the inquiry.

The report detailed the prevalence of mental health problems in children and found;

• Hawaii has 7.6% of children with a mental health problem
• 27.2% of Maine children suffer from a mental health problem
• In the District of Columbia, 29.5% of children did not receive appropriate treatment
• In North Carolina, 72.2% of children were not treated
• The national average of untreated mental health problems among children is just over 49%

Mark Peterson, badociate professor at the University of Michigan Medicine and lead author of the study, said in a statement that he was not expecting such a high number after studying mental health for years. This discovery, however, did not surprise psychiatrists and psychologists for children and adolescents. Experts in the field have agreed to have seen similar numbers in their practices.

Jennifer Mautone, a psychologist at the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences of the Child and Adolescent of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia stated that there are social stigma issues that prevent families from asking for help, advice and support. Coverage is also a question, she said. The American Academy of Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents also discusses the availability of psychiatrists for children and adolescents (less than 17 available per 100,000 children). Waiting times are long, experts say. This leads to a worsening of the disease and the need for long-term treatment, says Mautone. "Mental health disorders are certainly stigmatized diseases and can be very bothersome in terms of healthy growth, especially in children and adolescents," said study co-author Daniel Whitney of University of Michigan.

According to the authors and experts in the field, communication with the education system, the juvenile justice system, the child protection system and the health system that promotes the interests of children and adolescents is another challenge. Mautone said in his statement: "All these systems that are supposed to take care of children do not often talk to each other. Very often, children are trapped and families do not get the appropriate help they need. Mautone leads the Healthy Minds, Healthy Kids initiative of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which provides support when needed.

The authors of the study wrote, "In children, mental disorders have adverse effects on individual and socio-economic factors and can hinder healthy transition into adulthood. care coordination systems have demonstrated a reduction in mental health burdens in a number of areas. "