Around 50% of adolescents will have some form of a mental disorder. 22.2% of them have severe impairment due to their mental illness.
The rate of mental disorder among adolescents is almost evenly distributed between sexes, but increases with age.
The percentage among adults is lower; 18.9% of adults in the United States are affected by mental illness.
(3)
3.2 million people aged 12 to 17 in the United States had at least one major depressive episode.
Major depressive episodes tend to be higher among adolescent females compared to males.
Adolescents aged 15 to 17 have the highest prevalence of major depressive episodes ranging from 16.9% to 18.5%.
60.1% of teens who have had a major depressive episode did not receive any form of treatment.
(4)
In 2017, an estimated 2.3 million adolescents in the US had one or more major depressive episode(s) with severe impairment. When looking at the percentage of adolescents who had severe impairment due to their depressive episode(s), it is at an astonishing 71%.
(4)
The suicide rate is consistently higher among males compared to females.
Overall, suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the US and claims over 47,000 lives each year.
Suicide is the second leading cause of death for the age group between 10 and 34, including the adolescent age group of 12 to 17.
