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Depression among Adolescents

 

The NSDUH Report:  Depression among Adolescents

Highlights:

  • Major depressive episodes in lifetime or past year were assessed in SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health among adolescents aged 12 to 17. A major depressive episode was defined using the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria which specifies a period of two weeks or longer during which there is either depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure and at least four other symptoms that reflect a change in functioning (such as problems with sleeping, eating, energy, concentration, and self image). Treatment for depression was defined as seeing or talking to a medical doctor or other health professional or taking prescription medication for depression.
  • As reported in SAMHSA's 2004 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, an estimated 9% of adolescents aged 12 to 17 (approximately 2.2 million adolescents) had experienced at least one major depressive episode during the past year.
  • Among adolescents aged 12 to 17 who experienced at least one major depressive episode during the past year, 40.3% reported having received treatment for depression during the past year.
  • Adolescents who had experienced a major depressive episode in the past year were more than twice as likely to have used illicit drugs in the past month than their peers who had not experienced a major depressive episode in the past year (21.2% vs. 9.6%).

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This Short Report, The NSDUH Report:  Depression among Adolescents, is based on SAMHSA's  National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is the primary source of information on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse and for selected mental health measures in the general U.S. civilian non institutionalized population, age 12 and older.   SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use & Health also provides estimates for drug use and for selected mental health measures by State.

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This page was last updated on July 27, 2006.

SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.

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