Lifetime Prevalence of Mental Disorders in U.S. Adolescents: Results from the National Comorbidity Survey Replication–Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A)
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent PsychiatryPublished 1 October 2010Open access
Kathleen R. Merikangas, Jianping He, Marcy Burstein, Sonja A. Swanson, Shelli Avenevoli, Lihong Cui
Citations6,176
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TL;DR
Estimates of the lifetime prevalence of DSM-IV mental disorders with and without severe impairment, their comorbidity across broad classes of disorder, and their sociodemographic correlates are presented to provide the first prevalence data on a broad range of mental disorders in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents.
Abstract
These findings provide the first prevalence data on a broad range of mental disorders in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents. Approximately one in every four to five youth in the U.S. meets criteria for a mental disorder with severe impairment across their lifetime. The likelihood that common mental disorders in adults first emerge in childhood and adolescence highlights the need for a transition from the common focus on treatment of U.S. youth to that of prevention and early intervention.
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PsychologySocial SciencesMedicine
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