Alexandria, VA – For the 6th year in a row, Mental Health America (MHA) released its annual State of Mental Health Report, which ranks all 50 states and the District of Columbia based on several mental health and access measures. This year, Pennsylvania came out on top overall with Nevada coming in 51st. The report also takes a look back on the trends of the last 6 years and shows that many are still not receiving the treatment they need.
Most alarmingly, the data show that the mental health of our youth is getting worse, not better. Major depression in youth has increased 4.35 percent over the last 6 years - meaning over 2 million youth have severe depression. Shockingly, almost 60 percent of youth with major depression do not receive any mental health treatment.
“Sadly, our report shows that our children continue to be in crisis,” said Paul Gionfriddo, president and CEO, MHA. “Despite mental health being something that more and more people are talking about - far too many young people are still suffering. It is imperative that we prioritize mental health for children and adolescents so that we can avoid crisis and so they can live healthy and productive lives.”
The data show that children are not the only ones in trouble. Adults are struggling as well:
- Over 45 million Americans – almost 20% - are experiencing a mental illness;
- Over 10.3 million adults have serious thoughts of suicide in the United States - an increase of nearly 450,000 people from last year’s data set; and
- 57 percent of adults with a mental illness receive no treatment.
In developing the report, MHA looked at 15 different measures to determine the rankings. MHA hopes to provide a snapshot of mental health status among youth and adults for policy and program planning, analysis, and evaluation; to track changes in prevalence of mental health issues and access to mental health care; to understand how changes in national data reflect the impact of legislation and policies; and to increase the dialogues and improve outcomes for individuals and families with mental health needs.
While much of the state of our mental health care continues to be broken, there are glimmers of hope. The data show that the rate of substance use disorders (SUD) in adults and in youth ages 12-17 has decreased. Public health and prevention efforts to limit the availability of drugs appear to have been successful in reducing the prevalence of SUD among children and adults in the U.S. That said, alcohol continues to be the most commonly used substance among adolescents and adults, with nearly three-quarters of people over the age of 12 with a SUD in the last year having an alcohol use disorder.
“While there are some improvements, it is clear we are not doing enough,” concluded Gionfriddo. “We must continue to improve access to care and treatments, and we need to put a premium on early identification and early intervention for everyone with mental health concerns. We must address these mental health concerns before crisis and tragedy strikes—before Stage 4.”