[New Report] Results from the 2011 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Findings

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) released its annual report on mental health, The 2011 Mental Health Findings Report (PDF download), with new insights about mental disorders of 12 through 17 year olds.
Estimates in the report include major depressive episodes (MDE), treatment for depression (among youths with MDE), and mental health service utilization. The report focuses mainly on trends between 2010 and 2011 and differences across population subgroups in 2011. Major findings from the report are included below.
Teens were mostly likely to seek mental health services for depression. Additional reasons are included in the chart below:

In 2011, past year MDE among youths generally increased with age. Among 12 year olds, 2.9 percent had past year MDE. Females were more likely than males to have past year MDE (12.1 vs. 4.5 percent), and were more likely to seek mental health services:

Teens who had an MDE in the past year were more likely to have used drugs in the past year:

The report (PDF download) goes into much more detail about both teen drug use and mental health. The excerpt from the report’s appendix includes only the sections detailing 12 through 17 year olds:

Major Depressive Episode and Mental Health Service Utilization among Youths .............. 27
Major Depressive Episode (MDE), MDE with Severe Impairment, and Treatment ............ 27
Mental Health Service Utilization .................................................................................. 30
Major Depressive Episode and Substance Use among Youths ......................................... 49
Major Depressive Episode and Substance Use Disorder among Youths ............................ 50
 
 
 

David Backes writes the Friday news roundup for Reclaiming Futures and contributes articles about juvenile justice reform and adolescent substance abuse treatment to ReclaimingFutures.org. He has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Santa Clara University. David works as an account executive for Prichard Communications.