Articles and Key Findings about Children’s Mental Health

Key Findings

Children’s Mental Health: Understanding an Ongoing Public Health Concern
A new report on children’s mental health used data from different sources to describe mental health and mental disorders in children during 2013–2019.
(Published February 24, 2022)

Mental health symptoms in school-aged children
A CDC study examined mental health symptoms in four different U.S. school districts during 2014–2018.
(Published September 4, 2020)

Gaps in helping adolescents with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders make the transition to adult health care
A CDC study found that in 2016–2017, most adolescents with mental, behavioral, or developmental disorders (MBDDs) did not receive the recommended support from their healthcare providers to help them transition from pediatric care to adult care.
(Published August 27, 2020)

Characteristics Related to Having Pediatric Mental Healthcare Policies in Emergency Departments
Learn about factors related to whether U.S. emergency departments (EDs) have policies in place to care for children with mental health and social concerns.
(Published: November 18, 2019)

Treatment of Disruptive Behavior Problems – What Works?
Learn about current evidence on the most effective treatments for behavior problems in children.
(Published: May 1, 2017)

Factors Associated with Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders in Early Childhood.
Learn about family, community and health-care factors related to children’s mental, behavioral or developmental disorder.
(Published: March 10, 2016)

Feature Articles

Supporting Mental Health in Childhood: The Work of the Children’s Mental Health Champions
Learn what CDC’s Children’s Mental Health Champions are doing to create partnerships, identify concerns, intervene early, and promote children’s mental health by working with prevention programs in different settings.
(Published: April 21, 2022)

Needle fears and phobia
Find ways to manage needle fears
(Published: December 6, 2021)

Back to school for kids
Children and parents need help with the transition back to school
(Published: June 25, 2021)

Mental health of children and parents —a strong connection
The mental health of children is connected to their parents’ mental health.
(Published: April 22, 2021)

Supporting Parents To Help Children Thrive
Learn how CDC helps parents get the support and information they need.
(Published: May 4, 2020)

Your Child Is At Risk for Mental Health Issues After a Disaster
Learn the signs of children’s mental stress to help them cope after a disaster.
(Published: January 13, 2020)

Helping Children Thrive in Rural Communities
Learn about data on children with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders in rural and urban areas.
(Published: March 12, 2019)

Recent Scientific Articles

The utility of the Behavior Assessment System for Children‐2 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in predicting mental disorders in the Project to Learn About Youth‐Mental Health.
Psychology in the Schools, published online January 21, 2023
Melissa L. Danielson, Hannah D. Kassab, Mary Lee, Julie S. Owens, Steven W. Evans, Corey Lipton, Sana Charania, Hayley Elia Young, Lorraine F. Kubicek, Kate Flory, Steven P. Cuffe
[Read summary]

Prevalence of mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders among children and adolescents with diabetes, United States (2016–2019)
Journal of Pediatrics, published online before print September 14, 2022
Catherine E. Barrett, Xilin Zhou, Isabel Mendez, Joohyun Park, Alain K. Koyama, Angelika H. Claussen, Kim Newsome, Kai McKeever Bullard
[Read summary]

Stability of mental disorder prevalence estimates among school-aged children and adolescents: Findings from the community-based Project to Learn About Youth-Mental Health (PLAY-MH) and Replication-PLAY-MH (Re-PLAY-MH), 2014-2017.
Valentine Wanga, Melissa L. Danielson, Rebecca H. Bitsko, Joseph R. Holbrook, Corey Lipton, Angelika H. Claussen, E. Rebekah Siceloff, Kate Flory
Annals of Epidemiology, 2022;72:82-90
[Read summary]

Perceived Racial/Ethnic Discrimination, Physical and Mental Health Conditions in Childhood, and the Relative Role of Other Adverse Experiences
Adversity and Resilience Science, published online May 23, 2022.
Helena J. Hutchins, Caroline M. Barry, Valentine Wanga, Sarah Bacon, Rashid Njai, Angelika H. Claussen, Reem M. Ghandour, Lydie A. Lebrun-Harris, Kiana Perkins, Lara R. Robinson
[Read summary]

Mental Health Surveillance Among Children — United States, 2013–2019
MMWR 71(2), February 25, 2022
Rebecca H. Bitsko, Angelika H. Claussen, Jesse Lichstein, Lindsey I. Black, Sherry Everett Jones, Melissa L. Danielson, Jennifer M. Hoenig, Shane P. Davis Jack, Debra J. Brody, Shiromani Gyawali, Matthew J. Maenner, Margaret Warner, Kristin M. Holland, Ruth Perou, Alex E. Crosby, Stephen J. Blumberg, Shelli Avenevoli, Jennifer W. Kaminski, Reem M. Ghandour
[Read article] [Read key findings]

Pediatric Emergency Department Visits Associated with Mental Health Conditions Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January 2019–January 2022
MWWR, 71(8);319–324
Lakshmi Radhakrishnan, Rebecca T. Leeb, Rebecca H. Bitsko, Kelly Carey, Abigail Gates, Kristin M. Holland, Kathleen P. Hartnett, Aaron Kite-Powell, Jourdan DeVies, Amanda R. Smith, Katharina L. van Santen, Sophia Crossen, Michael Sheppard, Samantha Wotiz, Rashon I. Lane, Rashid Njai, Amelia G. Johnson, Amber Winn, Hannah L. Kirking, Loren Rodgers, Craig W. Thomas, Karl Soetebier, Jennifer Adjemian, Kayla N. Anderson.
[Read article]

Evidence Base Review of Couple‐ and Family‐Based Psychosocial Interventions to Promote Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health
Jennifer W. Kaminski, Lara R. Robinson, Helena J. Hutchins, Kimberly B. Newsome, Caroline M. Barry
Journal of Marital and Family Therapy. Published online November 16, 2021
[Read summary]

Short Sleep Duration Among Infants, Children, and Adolescents Aged 4 Months–17 Years — United States, 2016–2018
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 2021; 70(38)
Anne G. Wheaton  & Angelika H. Claussen
[Read article]

Fathers and Families: Risk and Resilience. An Introduction
Adversity and Resilience Science, 2021;2:63-69
Hiram E. Fitzgerald, Lara R. Robinson, Natasha Cabrera, Leonie Segal
[Read summary]

Mental Health of Parents and Primary Caregivers by Sex and Associated Child Health Indicators
Adversity and Resilience Science, 2021;2:125–139.
Sara Beth Wolicki, Rebecca H. Bitsko, Robyn A. Cree  Melissa L. Danielson, Jean Ko, Lee Warner, Lara R. Robinson
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Factors Associated with Self-regulation in a Nationally Representative Sample of Children Ages 3–5 Years: United States, 2016
Maternal and Child Health Journal, 2020;25(1):27-37
Angelika H. Claussen, Lara R. Robinson, Jennifer W. Kaminski, Sana Charania, Joseph R. Holbrook, Marvin So, Reem Ghandour, Camille Smith, Ashley Satterfield-Nash, Georgina Peacock & Coleen Boyle
[Read article]

Mental Health–Related Emergency Department Visits Among Children Aged <18 Years During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January 1–October 17, 2020
MMWR, 2020;69:1675–1680
Rebecca T. Leeb, Rebecca H. Bitsko, Lakshmi Radhakrishnan, Pedro Martinez, Rashid Njai, Kristin M. Holland
[Read article]

Support for Transition from Adolescent to Adult Health Care Among Adolescents With and Without Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders — United States, 2016–2017.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 2020, 69(34);1156–1160.
Rebecca T. Leeb, Melissa L. Danielson, Rebecca H. Bitsko, Robyn A. Cree, Shana Godfred-Cato, Michelle Hughes, Patrick Powell, Bradley Firchow; Laura C. Hart, Lydie A. Lebrun-Harris.
[Read article]

Community-based prevalence of externalizing and internalizing disorders among school-aged children and adolescents in four geographically dispersed school districts in the United States.
Child Psychiatry & Human Development 2021; 52(3): 500–514.
Melissa L. Danielson, Rebecca H. Bitsko, Joseph R. Holbrook, Sana N. Charania, Angelika H. Claussen, Robert E. McKeown, Steven P. Cuffe, Julie Sarno Owens, Steven W. Evans, Lorraine Kubicek & Kate Flory
[Read article]

Trends over Time and Jurisdiction Variability in Supplemental Security Income and State Supplementary Payment Programs for Children with Disabilities
Journal of Public Health Management & Practice. 2020; 26(Suppl 2 ADVANCING LEGAL EPIDEMIOLOGY): S45–S53.
Lara R. Robinson, Russell F. McCord, Lindsay K. Cloud, Jennifer W. Kaminski, Amy Cook, Jessica Amoroso, Maya Hazarika Watts, Kim Kotzky, Caroline M. Barry, Rebecca Johnson, Kelly J. Kelleher.
[Read article]

Characteristics Associated With Presence of Pediatric Mental Health Care Policies in Emergency Departments.
Pediatric Emergency Care. November 13, 2019.
Robyn A Cree, Marvin So, Jessica L. Franks, Rachel M. Richards, Rebecca T. Leeb, Andrew Hashikawa, Steven Krug, Lorah Ludwig, Lenora M. Olson.
[Read article] [Read key findings]

Health care, family, and community factors associated with mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders and poverty among children aged 2–8 years — United States, 2016.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 2018;67(5):1377-1383.
Robyn A. Cree, Rebecca H. Bitsko, Lara R. Robinson, Joseph R. Holbrook, Melissa L. Danielson, Camille Smith, Jennifer W. Kaminski, Mary Kay Kenney, Georgina Peacock
[Read article]

Policy levers to promote access to and utilization of children’s mental health services: A systematic review
Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. 2019; 46(3): 334–351.
Marvin So, Russell McCord, Jennifer W. Kaminski
[Read article]

Prevalence and treatment of depression, anxiety, and conduct problems in US children
Journal of Pediatrics. 2019; 206, 256–267.e3
Reem M. Ghandour, Laura J. Sherman, Catherine J. Vladutiu, Mir M. Ali, Sean E. Lynch, Rebecca H. Bitsko, Stephen J. Blumberg
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Prevalence of parent-reported traumatic brain injury in children and associated health conditions.
JAMA Pediatrics. 2018;172(11):1078-1086.
Juliet Haarbauer-Krupa, Akilah Heggs Lee, Rebecca H. Bitsko, Xinjian Zhang, Marcie-jo Kresnow-Sedacca.
[Read article]

Epidemiology and impact of healthcare provider diagnosed anxiety and depression among US children.
Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. 2018;39(5), 395–403.
Rebecca H. Bitsko, Joseph R. Holbrook, Reem M. Ghandour, Stephen J. Blumberg, Susanna N. Visser, Ruth Perou, John Walkup.
[Read article] [Read key findings]

Evidence base update for psychosocial treatment of disruptive behaviors in children.
Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 2017, 46:4, 477-499
Jennifer W. Kaminski & Angelika H. Claussen
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Differences in Health Care, Family, and Community Factors Associated with Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders Among Children Aged 2–8 Years in Rural and Urban Areas —United States, 2011–2012
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) Surveillance Summaries 2017 ;66(No. SS-8):1–11.
Lara R. Robinson, Joseph R. Holbrook, Rebecca H. Bitsko, Sophie A. Hartwig, Jennifer W. Kaminski, Reem M. Ghandour, Georgina Peacock, Akilah Heggs, Coleen A. Boyle
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Behavioral Health Integration in Pediatric Primary Care: Considerations and Opportunities for Policymakers, Planners, and Providers
Milbank Memorial Fund, March 2017
Elizabeth Tobin Tyler, Rachel L. Hulkower, and Jennifer W. Kaminski
[Read article [326, KB, 25 pages]] [Read summary]

Interpreting the Prevalence of Mental Disorders in Children: Tribulation and Triangulation
Health Promotion Practice. 2017; 18( 1), 5–7.
Joseph R. Holbrook, Rebecca H. Bitsko,  Melissa L. Danielson, Susanna N. Visser
[Read article]

Health-care, Family, and Community Factors associated with Mental, Behavioral, and Developmental Disorders in Early Childhood – United States, 2011-2012.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 2016 Mar 11; 65(9);221–226.
Rebecca H. Bitsko, Joseph R. Holbrook, Jennifer W. Kaminski, Lara R. Robinson, Reem Ghandour, Camille Smith, Georgina Peacock
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Demographic Differences Among a National Sample of US Youth With Behavioral Disorders
Clinical Pediatrics, 2016; 55(14), 1358-1362.
Susanna N. Visser, Emily L. Deubler, Rebecca H. Bitsko, Joseph R. Holbrook, and Melissa L. Danielson,
[Read extract]

Mental Health Surveillance Among Children, United States 2005–2011
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) 2013;62(Suppl; May 16, 2013):1-35.
CDC
[Read article] [Read key findings]