The DOI matches its Crossref record; 58 of the 58 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Service utilization for lifetime mental disorders in U.S. Adolescents: Results of the national comorbidity survey-adolescent supplement (NCS-A)
Open accessAbstract
Objective Mental health policy for youth has been constrained by a paucity of nationally representative data concerning patterns and correlates of mental health service utilization in this segment of the population. The objectives of this investigation are to examine the rates and sociodemographic correlates of lifetime mental health service use by severity, type, and number of DSM-IV disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey-Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A). Method Face-to-face survey of mental disorders from 2002-2004 using a modified version of the fully-structured World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview in a nationally representative sample of 6,483 adolescents aged 13-18 years for whom information on service use was available from both an adolescent and a parent report. Both total and sector-specific mental health service use was also assessed. Results Approximately one-third of adolescents with mental disorders received services for their illness (36.2%). Although disorder severity was significantly associated with an increased likelihood of receiving treatment, half of adolescents with severely impairing mental disorders had never received mental health treatment for their symptoms. Service rates were highest among those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (59.8%) and behavior disorders (45.4%), but less than one in five affected adolescents received services for anxiety, eating, or substance use disorders. Comorbidity and severe impairment were strongly associated with service utilization, particularly among youth with behavior disorders. Hispanic and non-Hispanic black adolescents were less likely than their white counterparts to receive services for mood and anxiety disorders, even when such disorders were associated with severe impairment. Conclusions Despite advances in public awareness of mental disorders in youth, a substantial proportion of young people with severe mental disorders have never received specialty mental health care. Marked racial disparities in lifetime rates of mental health treatment highlight the urgent need to identify and combat barriers to the recognition and treatment of these conditions.
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“In the USA, studies consistently indicate that the education sector is the most heavily accessed youth mental health service setting, responsible for 50–80% of all mental healthcare [4, 41–45].”
From Leading the charge in the education sector: development and validation of the School Implementation Leadership Scale (SILS) (2022) · cites this paper as [45]
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“In the USA, studies consistently indicate that the education sector is the most heavily accessed youth mental health service setting, responsible for 50–80% of all mental healthcare [4, 41–45].”
From Leading the charge in the education sector: development and validation of the School Implementation Leadership Scale (SILS) (2022) · cites this paper as [45]
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“Young people struggling particularly with internalising symptoms such as anxiety and depression are much less noticeable and less likely to seek therapeutic intervention than those with externalising symptoms.”
From Maladaptive Perfectionism, Disguised Distress, and Help Seeking in the Culture of 'Saving Face': Links to Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms among Asian Youth (2019) · cites this paper as Merikangas et al., 2011
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“In a widespread clinical assessment of 6,000 adolescents aged 1318 years old in the US, researchers found that only about a third (36.2%) of adolescents with an identifiable mental health disorder received treatment.”
From Maladaptive Perfectionism, Disguised Distress, and Help Seeking in the Culture of 'Saving Face': Links to Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms among Asian Youth (2019) · cites this paper as Merikangas et al., 2011
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“While clinician-led cognitive behavior therapy effectively improves IU, several barriers including stigma, time, and financial costs prevent access to, and engagement with, evidence-based care (Brown, Rice, Rickwood, & Parker, 2016; van den Heuvel, Barozzino, Milligan, Ford-Jones, & Freeman, 2016), with two-thirds of diagnosed youth not receiving the help they need (Merikangas et al., 2011).”
From A single session online training reduces intolerance of uncertainty and improves mental health in emerging adults. (2025) · cites this paper as Merikangas et al., 2011
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Merikangas, 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
Self-citation(2009) · Cited by 2,013
Prevalence and Treatment of Mental Disorders, 1990 to 2003
Kessler, R. C., Demler, O., Frank, R. G., Olfson, M., Pincus, H. A., Walters, E. E., Wang, P., Wells, K. B., & Zaslavsky, A. M. (2005) · New England Journal of Medicine · doi:10.1056/nejmsa043266 · Cited by 1,910
Self-citationPliszka, S. (2007) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/chi.0b013e318054e724 · Cited by 1,765
Unmet Need for Mental Health Care Among U.S. Children: Variation by Ethnicity and Insurance Status
Kataoka, S. H., Zhang, L., & Wells, K. B. (2002) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.159.9.1548 · Cited by 1,566
Wang, P. S., Berglund, P., Olfson, M., Pincus, H. A., Wells, K. B., & Kessler, R. C. (2005) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.62.6.603 · Cited by 1,325
Self-citationPrevalence and Treatment of Mental Disorders Among US Children in the 2001–2004 NHANES
Merikangas, K. R., He, J.-P., Brody, D., Fisher, P. W., Bourdon, K., & Koretz, D. S. (2010) · Pediatrics · doi:10.1542/peds.2008-2598 · Cited by 1,172
Self-citationChildren's Mental Health Service Use Across Service Sectors
Burns, B. J., Costello, E. J., Angold, A. C., Tweed, D. L., Stangl, D. K., Farmer, E. M. Z., & Erkanli, A. (1995) · Health Affairs · doi:10.1377/hlthaff.14.3.147 · Cited by 1,165
Gender Differences in ADHD: A Meta-Analysis and Critical Review
GAUB, M., & CARLSON, C. L. (1997) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1097/00004583-199708000-00011 · Cited by 1,117
Disparity in Depression Treatment Among Racial and Ethnic Minority Populations in the United States
Alegría, M., Chatterji, P., Wells, K., Cao, Z., Chen, C.-N., Takeuchi, D., Jackson, J., & Meng, X.-L. (2008) · Psychiatric Services · doi:10.1176/ps.2008.59.11.1264 · Cited by 993
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Nock, M. K., Green, J. G., Hwang, I., McLaughlin, K. A., Sampson, N. A., Zaslavsky, A. M., & Kessler, R. C. (2013) · JAMA Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/2013.jamapsychiatry.55 · Cited by 1,666
Swanson, S. A., Crow, S. J., Le Grange, D., Swendsen, J., & Merikangas, K. R. (2011) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.22 · Cited by 1,611
Self-citationVisser, S. N., Danielson, M. L., Bitsko, R. H., Holbrook, J. R., Kogan, M. D., Ghandour, R. M., Perou, R., & Blumberg, S. J. (2014) · Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2013.09.001 · Cited by 1,263
Thapar, A., Eyre, O., Patel, V., & Brent, D. (2022) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(22)01012-1 · Cited by 869
Cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents
James, A. C., James, G., Cowdrey, F. A., Soler, A., & Choke, A. (2015) · Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · doi:10.1002/14651858.cd004690.pub4 · Cited by 876
Metadata
- Authors
- Merikangas, K. R., He, J.-P., Burstein, M., Swendsen, J., Avenevoli, S., Case, B., Georgiades, K., Heaton, L., Swanson, S., & Olfson, M.
- Affiliations
- National Institute of Mental Health (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research (US)
- McMaster University (CA)
- Columbia University Irving Medical Center (US)
- Corresponding author
- Merikangas, Kathleen Ries
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-01
- Volume
- 50
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 32-45
- ISSN
- 0890-8567 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4408275
- OpenAlex
- W1994618257
- Semantic Scholar
- cb8ef1c0fa7b5563715b8552fe94b21ab16ab756
- Cited by
- 1,579
- References
- 58
- Citations by year
- 2026: 47 · 2025: 63 · 2024: 104 · 2023: 99 · 2022: 122 · 2021: 167 · 2020: 143 · 2019: 155 · 2018: 119 · 2017: 122 · 2016: 107 · 2015: 98 · 2014: 100 · 2013: 71 · 2012: 45
- FWCI
- 57.72
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- John W. Alden Trust
- Bristol-Myers Squibb
- Eli Lilly and Company
- World Health Organization
- McMaster University
- York University
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
- National Institutes of Health
- School of Medicine, New York University
- National Institute of Mental Health (U01-MH-60220, MH60220, ZIAMH002808, U01MH060220)
- National Institute on Drug Abuse (R01DA016558)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Mental Health Treatment and Access
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychology and Mental Health
- Keywords
- mental health service utilization, adolescents, treatment gap, comorbidities, disorder severity, racial disparities, Latino youth, non-Hispanic Black adolescents, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, behavior disorders, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, substance use disorders, mental health policy
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Mental Disorders, Health Services Needs and Demand, Health Surveys, Humans, Interview, Psychological, Long-Term Care, Mental Health Services, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Severity of Illness Index, Socioeconomic Factors, United States, Comorbidity, Mental Competency, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Healthcare Disparities
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