Children and Mental Health Fast Facts

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Mental health problems affect one in every five young people.
One in every 10 young people age 9 or older, or about 4 million, has a serious emotional disturbance that severely disrupts daily life.
Among children, boys and girls are at equal risk for developing depression.
Children who develop depression often have a family history of the illness, many times a parent who had depression at an early age.
Once a young person experiences a major depression, he or she has a greater risk of developing another depression or mental health problem within the next 5 years.
Untreated mental health problems can lead to suicide, which is the sixth leading cause of death for 5- to 14-year olds.
An estimated two-thirds of all young people with mental health problems are not getting the help they need.
Mental health problems can - and should - be treated.

For more information, contact:
SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center
800-789-2647
mentalhealth.samhsa.gov
11/21/00

Resources

American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
3615 Wisconsin Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016-3007
202-966-7300
www.aacap.org
American Psychological Association
750 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002-4242
202-336-5500 or 800-374-2721
www.apa.org
Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder
8181 Professional Place, Suite 150
Landover, MD 20785
301-306-7070 or 800-233-4050
www.chadd.org
Federation of Families for Children's Mental health
1101 King Street, Suite 420
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-684-7710
www.ffcmh.org
National Association of Psychiatric Treatment Centers for Children
1025 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1012
Washington, DC 20036
202-857-9735
National Association of School Psychologists
4340 East West Highway, Suite 402
Bethesda, MD 20814-9457
301-657-0270
www.nasponline.org/index2.html
National Mental Health Association
2001 N. Beauregard Street - 12th Floor
Alexandria, VA 22311
703-684-7722 or 800-969-6642
www.nmha.org

These are suggested resources.
It is not meant to be a complete list.
FastFact5
11/21/00