The DOI matches its Crossref record; 65 of the 65 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Recent increases in depressive symptoms among US adolescents: trends from 1991 to 2018
Open accessAbstract
Background Mental health problems and mental health related mortality have increased among adolescents, particularly girls. These trends have implications for etiology and prevention and suggest new and emerging risk factors in need of attention. The present study estimated age, period, and cohort effects in depressive symptoms among US nationally representative samples of school attending adolescents from 1991 to 2018.Methods Data are drawn from 1991 to 2018 Monitoring the Future yearly cross-sectional surveys of 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students (N = 1,260,159). Depressive symptoms measured with four questions that had consistent wording and data collection procedures across all 28 years. Age-period-cohort effects estimated using the hierarchical age-period-cohort models.Results Among girls, depressive symptoms decreased from 1991 to 2011, then reversed course, peaking in 2018; these increases reflected primarily period effects, which compared to the mean of all periods showed a gradual increase starting in 2012 and peaked in 2018 (estimate = 1.15, p < 0.01). Cohort effects were minimal, indicating that increases are observed across all age groups. Among boys, trends were similar although the extent of the increase is less marked compared to girls; there was a declining cohort effect among recently born cohorts, suggesting that increases in depressive symptoms among boys are slower for younger boys compared to older boys in recent years. Trends were generally similar by race/ethnicity and parental education, with a positive cohort effect for Hispanic girls born 1999-2004.Conclusions Depressive symptoms are increasing among teens, especially among girls, consistent with increases in depression and suicide. Population variation in psychiatric disorder symptoms highlight the importance of current environmental determinants of psychiatric disorder risk, and provide evidence of emerging risk factors that may be shaping a new and concerning trend in adolescent mental health.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“These findings are consistent with recent increases in depression and suicidal ideation and behaviors among US adolescents [39–42].”
From Age, period, and cohort effects on suicide death in the United States from 1999 to 2018: moderation by sex, race, and firearm involvement (2021) · cites this paper as [40]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredIn the citing paper
“Layered atop these well-known developmental trajectories, a series of new findings indicate that rates of these adolescent-emergent mental health problems (depressive and anxiety disorders, NSSI, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors) have been increasing worldwide -- especially over the past decade, and most notably amongst girls.(2,20–23)”
From Puberty Initiates Cascading Relationships Between Neurodevelopmental, Social, and Internalizing Processes Across Adolescence (2021) · cites this paper as [21]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population
Radloff, L. S. (1977) · Applied Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/014662167700100306 · Cited by 53,267
Kessler, R. C., Berglund, P., Demler, O., Jin, R., Koretz, D., Merikangas, K. R., Rush, A. J., Walters, E. E., & Wang, P. S. (2003) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.289.23.3095 · Cited by 7,988
Monitoring the Future: National Results on Adolescent Drug Use: Overview of Key Findings
Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2003) · FOCUS The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry · doi:10.1037/e560352009-001 · Cited by 6,930
Self-citationMerikangas, K. R., He, J.-P., Burstein, M., Swanson, S. A., Avenevoli, S., Cui, L., Benjet, C., Georgiades, K., & Swendsen, J. (2010) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2010.05.017 · Cited by 6,278
Polanczyk, G. V., Salum, G. A., Sugaya, L. S., Caye, A., & Rohde, L. A. (2015) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.12381 · Cited by 3,990
Miech, R., Johnston, L. A., O'Malley, P., Bachman, J., Schulenberg, J., & Patrick, M. E. (2005) · doi:10.3998/2027.42/146530 · Cited by 1,771
Self-citationTwenge, J. M., Joiner, T. E., Rogers, M. L., & Martin, G. N. (2018) · Clinical Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/2167702617723376 · Cited by 1,705
Hasin, D. S., Goodwin, R. D., Stinson, F. S., & Grant, B. F. (2005) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.62.10.1097 · Cited by 1,645
National trends in the prevalence and treatment of depression in adolescents and young adults.
Mojtabai, R., Olfson, M., & Han, B. (2016) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2016-1878 · Cited by 1,424
Children Of The Great Depression: 25th Anniversary Edition
Elder, G. H. (1977) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 1,135
Tsuno, N., Besset, A., & Ritchie, K. (2005) · The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry · doi:10.4088/jcp.v66n1008 · Cited by 1,084
Is there an epidemic of child or adolescent depression?
Jane Costello, E., Erkanli, A., & Angold, A. (2006) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/j.1469-7610.2006.01682.x · Cited by 983 · cited 3×
“This relative stability in symptoms of depressive symptoms through most years covered here corresponds to evidence from other longitudinal studies and meta-analyses [2, 16, 20].”
BackgroundResultNonspecific Psychological Distress and Other Dimensions of Psychopathology
Dohrenwend, B. P. (1980) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1980.01780240027003 · Cited by 959
Przybylski, A. K., & Weinstein, N. (2017) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/0956797616678438 · Cited by 890
National Trends in the Outpatient Treatment of Depression
Olfson, M. (2002) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.287.2.203 · Cited by 847
Children of the Great Depression: Social Change in Life Experience.
Coles, R., & Elder, G. H. (1975) · Social Forces · doi:10.2307/2576115 · Cited by 845
Consilience and Life History Theory: From genes to brain to reproductive strategy
FIGUEREDO, A., VASQUEZ, G., BRUMBACH, B., SCHNEIDER, S., SEFCEK, J., TAL, I., HILL, D., WENNER, C., & JACOBS, W. (2006) · Developmental Review · doi:10.1016/j.dr.2006.02.002 · Cited by 793
Increasing Rates of Depression
Klerman, G. L. (1989) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.1989.03420150079041 · Cited by 787
National Patterns in Antidepressant Medication Treatment
Olfson, M., & Marcus, S. C. (2009) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.81 · Cited by 730
Bullying and Suicidal Ideation and Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis
Holt, M. K., Vivolo-Kantor, A. M., Polanin, J. R., Holland, K. M., DeGue, S., Matjasko, J. L., Wolfe, M., & Reid, G. (2015) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2014-1864 · Cited by 675
Associations among bullying, cyberbullying, and suicide in high school students
Bauman, S., Toomey, R. B., & Walker, J. L. (2013) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.12.001 · Cited by 665
Yang, Y., & Land, K. C. (2013) · Chapman & Hall/CRC eBooks · doi:10.1201/b13902 · Cited by 654
Cautionary Statement for Forensic Use of DSM-5
(2014) · Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition · doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.744053 · Cited by 624
(2016) · PubMed · Cited by 580
Bonanno, R. A., & Hymel, S. (2013) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/s10964-013-9937-1 · Cited by 546
The Great Sleep Recession: Changes in Sleep Duration Among US Adolescents, 1991–2012
Keyes, K. M., Maslowsky, J., Hamilton, A., & Schulenberg, J. (2015) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2014-2707 · Cited by 490
Self-citationShensa, A., Escobar-Viera, C. G., Sidani, J. E., Bowman, N. D., Marshal, M. P., & Primack, B. A. (2017) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.03.061 · Cited by 469
The association between social media use and sleep disturbance among young adults
Levenson, J. C., Shensa, A., Sidani, J. E., Colditz, J. B., & Primack, B. A. (2016) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.01.001 · Cited by 447
Mittal, C., & Griskevicius, V. (2014) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0037398 · Cited by 426
Cyberbullying and adolescent mental health: systematic review.
Bottino, S. M. B., Bottino, C. M. C., Regina, C. G., Correia, A. V. L., & Ribeiro, W. S. (2015) · Cadernos de Saúde Pública · doi:10.1590/0102-311x00036114 · Cited by 418
Trends in Mental Health Care among Children and Adolescents
Olfson, M., Druss, B. G., & Marcus, S. C. (2015) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmsa1413512 · Cited by 408
Schulenberg, J. E., & Zarrett, N. R. (2006) · American Psychological Association eBooks · doi:10.1037/11381-006 · Cited by 389
Self-citationA 40-Year Perspective on the Prevalence of Depression: The Stirling County Study
Murphy, J. M., Laird, N. M., Monson, R. R., Sobol, A. M., & Leighton, A. H. (2000) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.57.3.209 · Cited by 318
Klerman, G. L. (1985) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.1985.01790300057007 · Cited by 316
National trends in the treatment for depression from 1998 to 2007
Marcus, S. C., & Olfson, M. (2010) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2010.151 · Cited by 312
Keyes, K. M., Utz, R. L., Robinson, W., & Li, G. (2010) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.12.018 · Cited by 292
Self-citationAge-cohort changes in the lifetime occurrence of depression and other mental disorders.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., Seeley, J. R., & Fischer, S. A. (1993) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037//0021-843x.102.1.110 · Cited by 288
(2010) · Sociological Methodology · doi:10.1111/(issn)1467-9531 · Cited by 256
Childhood and Adolescent Depression
Angold, A. C. (1988) · The British Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1192/bjp.152.5.601 · Cited by 246
The decline in adult activities among U.S. adolescents, 1976–2016
Twenge, J. M., & Park, H. (2019) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12930 · Cited by 240
Merline, A. C., Jager, J., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2008) · Addiction · doi:10.1111/j.1360-0443.2008.02178.x · Cited by 236
Self-citationAge-cohort changes in the lifetime occurrence of depression and other mental disorders.
Lewinsohn, P. M., Rohde, P., Seeley, J. R., et al. (1993) · Journal of Abnormal Psychology · doi:10.1037/0021-843x.102.1.110 · Cited by 210
Messias, E., Kindrick, K., & Castro, J. (2014) · Comprehensive Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.comppsych.2014.02.005 · Cited by 185
Smartphones are bad for some teens, not all
Odgers, C. (2018) · Nature · doi:10.1038/d41586-018-02109-8 · Cited by 173
Prevalence and incidence of depressive disorder: the Baltimore ECA follow-up, 1981–2004
Eaton, W. W., Kalaydjian, A., Scharfstein, D. O., Mezuk, B., & Ding, Y. (2007) · Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0447.2007.01017.x · Cited by 146
Schneider, S. K., O’Donnell, L. N., & Smith, E. (2015) · Journal of School Health · doi:10.1111/josh.12290 · Cited by 144
Digital Self-Harm Among Adolescents
Patchin, J. W., & Hinduja, S. (2017) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.06.012 · Cited by 120
Age, Period, and Cohort Effects in Psychological Distress in the United States and Canada
Keyes, K. M., Nicholson, R. C., Kinley, J., Raposo, S., Stein, M. B., Goldner, E. M., & Sareen, J. (2014) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwu029 · Cited by 109
Self-citationIncidence of depression in the Stirling County Study: historical and comparative perspectives
Murphy, J. M., Laird, N. M., Monson, R. R., Sobol, A. M., & Leighton, A. H. (2000) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s0033291799002044 · Cited by 100
Age at Menarche: 50-Year Socioeconomic Trends Among US-Born Black and White Women
Krieger, N., Kiang, M. V., Кошелева, А., Waterman, P. D., Chen, J. T., & Beckfield, J. (2014) · American Journal of Public Health · doi:10.2105/ajph.2014.301936 · Cited by 90
Martins, S. S., Segura, L. E., Santaella-Tenorio, J., Perlmutter, A. S., Fenton, M. C., Cerdá, M., Keyes, K. M., Ghandour, L. A., Storr, C. L., & Hasin, D. S. (2016) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2016.08.033 · Cited by 82
Self-citationRobinson, W. R., Utz, R., Keyes, K. M., Martin, C. L., & Yang, T. (2012) · International Journal of Obesity · doi:10.1038/ijo.2012.198 · Cited by 64
Self-citationNegative Experiences on Facebook and Depressive Symptoms Among Young Adults
Rosenthal, S. R., Buka, S. L., Marshall, B. D. L., Carey, K. B., & Clark, M. A. (2016) · Journal of Adolescent Health · doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.06.023 · Cited by 63
Maslowsky, J., Schulenberg, J. E., & Zucker, R. A. (2013) · Developmental Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0035085 · Cited by 60
Self-citationManifestations of depressive affect in adolescence
Cantwell, D. P., & Baker, L. (1991) · Journal of Youth and Adolescence · doi:10.1007/bf01537604 · Cited by 57
Maslowsky, J., Schulenberg, J. E., O’Malley, P. M., & Kloska, D. D. (2013) · Mental Health and Substance Use · doi:10.1080/17523281.2013.786750 · Cited by 51
Self-citationIs Mental Health in the Canadian Population Changing over Time?
Simpson, K. R. S., Meadows, G. N., FRANCES, A. J., & Patten, S. B. (2012) · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/070674371205700508 · Cited by 48
The Monitoring the Future Project After Four Decades: Design and Procedures
Bachman, J. G., Johnston, L. D., O’Malley, P. M., Schulenberg, J. E., & Miech, R. A. (2015) · Deep Blue (University of Michigan) · doi:10.7302/3715 · Cited by 48
Self-citationClarifying hierarchical age–period–cohort models: A rejoinder to Bell and Jones
Reither, E. N., Land, K. C., Jeon, S. Y., Powers, D. A., Masters, R. K., Zheng, H., Hardy, M. A., Keyes, K. M., Fu, Q., Hanson, H. A., et al. (2015) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.07.013 · Cited by 47
Self-citationHolfeld, B. J., & Sukhawathanakul, P. (2017) · Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking · doi:10.1089/cyber.2016.0194 · Cited by 45
Keyes, K. M., Jager, J., Hamilton, A. D., O’Malley, P. M., Miech, R. A., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2015) · Drug and Alcohol Dependence · doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.06.031 · Cited by 32
Self-citationHealthy personality development and well‐being
Cloninger, C. R. (2012) · World Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.wpsyc.2012.05.019 · Cited by 26
Adolescent adaptation before, during and in the aftermath of the Great Recession in the USA
Johnson, M. K., Staff, J., Patrick, M. E., & Schulenberg, J. E. (2016) · International Journal of Psychology · doi:10.1002/ijop.12389 · Cited by 22
Self-citationMixed Effects Models: Hierarchical APC-Growth Curve Analysis of Prospective Cohort Data
Yang, Y., & Land, K. C. (2013) · Chapman & Hall/CRC eBooks · doi:10.1201/b13902-9 · Cited by 2
Directions for Future Research and Conclusion
Yang, Y., & Land, K. C. (2013) · Chapman & Hall/CRC eBooks · doi:10.1201/b13902-10 · Cited by 1
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Miech R, Johnston LD, O’Malley PM, Bachman JG, Schulenberg J (2016) Monitoring the future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2015, secondary school students. Ann Arbor Inst Soc Res Univ Michigan 1:636
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The social determinants of mental health and disorder: evidence, prevention and recommendations
Kirkbride, J. B., Anglin, D. M., Colman, I., Dykxhoorn, J. L., Jones, P. B., Patalay, P., Pitman, A., Soneson, E., Steare, T., Wright, T., et al. (2024) · World Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/wps.21160 · Cited by 1,619
“A rapid increase in self reported depressive symptoms amongst younger adolescents in the US since 2012 has also been reported, peaking in 2018 (the last date of available survey data) 21 .”
BackgroundOdgers, C. L., & Jensen, M. R. (2020) · Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry · doi:10.1111/jcpp.13190 · Cited by 1,189
Shanahan, L., Steinhoff, A., Bechtiger, L., Murray, A. L., Nivette, A., Hepp, U., Ribeaud, D., & Eisner, M. (2022) · Psychological Medicine · doi:10.1017/s003329172000241x · Cited by 675
Smartphones, social media use and youth mental health
Abi-Jaoude, E., Naylor, K. T., & Pignatiello, A. (2020) · Canadian Medical Association Journal · doi:10.1503/cmaj.190434 · Cited by 627
Twenge, J. M., & Martin, G. N. (2020) · Journal of Adolescence · doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2019.12.018 · Cited by 582
Metadata
- Authors
- Keyes, K. M., Gary, D., O’Malley, P. M., Hamilton, A., & Schulenberg, J.
- Affiliations
- Universidad Mayor (CL)
- Columbia University (US)
- University of Michigan (US)
- Corresponding author
- Keyes, Katherine M.
- Venue
- Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
- Published
- 2019-03-30
- Volume
- 54
- Issue
- 8
- Pages
- 987-996
- ISSN
- 0933-7954 (ISSN-L)
- 1433-9285
- PMC
- PMC7015269
- OpenAlex
- W2926589548
- Cited by
- 465
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 39 · 2025: 78 · 2024: 90 · 2023: 79 · 2022: 69 · 2021: 64 · 2020: 39 · 2019: 7
- FWCI
- 52.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01001411)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
- Keywords
- depressive symptoms, adolescent mental health, age-period-cohort effects, sex differences, girls, boys, cohort effects, period effects, Latino youth, race and ethnicity, parental education, suicide, environmental risk factors
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Cross-Sectional Studies, Depression, Ethnicity, Female, Hispanic or Latino, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Risk Factors, Students, Suicide, United States
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
