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Health Status > Adolescents
MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT
In 2003, 20.6 percent of youth 12 to 17 years
of age received mental health treatment or counseling. The most
commonly reported reasons for seeking counseling were feeling depressed
(50.2 percent), breaking rules or “acting out” (25.7
percent), feeling afraid or tense (21.4 percent), and suicidal thoughts
or attempts (18.9 percent).
There was little variation in mental health treatment
rates among youth by age group or race and ethnicity in 2003. Females
ages 12 to 17 years were more likely to receive treatment or counseling
than males of the same age (22.4 versus 19.0 percent). Treatment
rates also varied by family income, with the highest rate among
youths with family incomes of less than $20,000 (24.8 percent).
Rates decrease as income increases, and youths with family incomes
of $75,000 or more had the lowest treatment rate (18.7 percent).
Among youth receiving mental health treatment/counseling,
48 percent went to a private therapist, psychologist, psychiatrist,
social worker, or counselor. The second most common source of treatment
was school counselors, school psychologists, or regular meetings
with teachers (46 percent). Of youths receiving treatment, 9 percent
were hospitalized for treatment of mental health problems.
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Horizontal Bar Chart: Reasons for Mental Health Treatment/Counseling
Among Children Ages 12-17 Who Received Treatment: 2003
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