Are We Doing Enough for Adolescents with Depression?

By: Annie OBrien

Untreated depression is the number 1 risk for suicide among youth.

Who Gets the Treatment? Who Gets the Money?

Adolescents Versus Adults Treated for Major Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Depressive Episode (MDE)* in 2014 (SAMHSA) Total Mental Health Expenditure in 2014

42%
Not youth-
Adolescents Had MDE:
specific
(ages 12-17)
4.741 million of adolescents Youth-
with depression
received treatment. Various Adult specific

Treated for
Mental Health GLS-Youth Suicide

70%
MDE:
Prevention
2.004 million
Adults Had MDE:
25.892 million
Programs Project AWARE
(ages 18 of adults with
depression received State Grant
and over)
Treated for treatment. Healthy Transitions
MDE:
GLS-Suicide Prevention
Resource Center
18.251 million
Only 10%
of government-funded
mental health programs target youth.

Why Does this Happen? What Is the Impact?

Only 10%-14% of pediatricians had confidence Compared to peers, Suicide is the 3rd
in their treatment skills for depression in children adolescents with mental leading cause of death
or adolescents. disorders are more likely to:
in youth and more

Adolescent reasons for not receiving treatment:

than
90%
of suicides
in depressed youth are
shortage of adolescent- lack of health insurance untreated at the time of
drop out of school be homeless
specific mental health failure of parents, school their death.
providers officials, etc. to address
reluctance due to stigma prevention and early Half of all adult
poorly coordinated identification mental illnesses begin
services before the age of 14.
be underemployed get arrested
Data courtesy of :
The American Association of Suicidology
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
*A Major Depressive Episode is defined as a period of at least 2 weeks in the past year
The Department of Pediatrics at Dartmouth Medical School
when an individual experienced a depressed mood or loss of interest/pleasure in daily Child Trends
activities and had a majority of specified depression symptoms, according to the DSM-IV. New York State Psychiatric Institute