Teens Experienced More Depression During Covid
Newly published research shows that teen depression rose during covid, with about 20% of adolescents having major depressive disorder symptoms in 2021 — the first whole pandemic year. But less than half who needed treatment received any, and even fewer minority adolescents did.
The New York Times:
Teen Depression Rose During Pandemic, With Racial Gaps In Treatment
Approximately 20 percent of adolescents had symptoms of major depressive disorder in 2021 — the first full calendar year of the pandemic — but less than half who needed treatment received it, according to a new study. The research, published in JAMA Pediatrics, found that treatment was most lacking for minority adolescents, particularly those who are Latino and mixed-race. (Richtel, 10/9)
Fox News:
Psychiatrist Shares 4 Ways To Support Your Child Through Life’s Ups And Downs On World Mental Health Day
World Mental Health Day is October 10. More than one in five youths (ages 13-18) currently or at some point in their lives will have a seriously debilitating mental illness, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fox News Digital spoke with Dr. Megan Campbell, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana, who shared four tips for how to support kids through the peaks and valleys of life. (Kasko, 10/10)
Time:
American Teenagers On Mental Health, Growing Up, And Coping
To be a U.S. teenager in 2023 is both the same as it ever was, and astoundingly different from even a generation ago. Along with all the classic challenges of growing up—grades, parents, first loves—looms a crop of newer ones: TikTok, gun violence, political division, the whipsaw of COVID-19, the not-so-slow creep of climate change. (Hammond, 10/10)
In other mental health news —
CBS News:
Study Finds Long-Term Benefits For Children That Have Close Bond With Their Parents
A new study stresses why it's so important for parents to forge a close bond with their children. Researchers at the University of Cambridge studied data on 10,000 people in the United Kingdom and found that those who were closer to their parents at age three were more likely to be "pro-social" and demonstrate "kindness, empathy, and generosity, by adolescence." They also tended to have fewer mental health problems. (Marshall, 10/9)
Becker's Hospital Review:
Hawaii Health Officials Working To Identify Care Gaps For Maui Residents
Two months after wildfires devastated parts of Maui, Hawaii's health department is conducting a needs assessment to understand where healthcare gaps may exist after the fire upended resources and destroyed some care facilities. Following the fire, the Maui District Health Office opened a clinic in West Maui that offered general health services including wound care, pharmacy and prescriptions needs and mental health services. (Hallowell, 10/9)
North Carolina Health News:
NC Officials Tout ‘Once In A Lifetime’ Investment In Mental Health
Between federal COVID relief funds and the $1.4 billion sign-on bonus North Carolina received for expanding Medicaid, state lawmakers were able to make significant investments in mental health services in the latest state budget. Though state budget negotiations are done almost entirely behind the closed doors of the majority party in the General Assembly — currently the Republicans — health leaders in the House and Senate said they took care to listen to patients, families and providers while creating their mental health spending plan while also working closely with Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley. (Knopf, 10/6)
