Depression, anxiety, and behavioral/conduct problems are prevalent among US children and adolescents and treatment gaps remain, a recent study found. Researchers analyzed data from the 2016 National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) to report nationally representative prevalence estimates of each condition among children aged 3-17 years and receipt of treatment by a mental health professional. They found:

• 7.1% of children aged 3-17 years had current anxiety problems, 7.4% had a current behavioral/conduct problem, and 3.2% had current depression.
• The prevalence of each disorder was higher with older age.
• Nearly 80% of those with depression received treatment in the previous year, compared with 59.3% of those with anxiety problems and 53.5% of those with behavioral/conduct problems.