Mental health is critical for children as they reach developmental and emotional milestones and learn healthy social skills and how to cope with problems. Mental health disorders among children are described as serious changes in the way they learn, behave, or handle distressing emotions and problems.

What are the CDC statistics for children’s mental health?

 According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 6 children ages 2–8 have a diagnosed mental, developmental or behavioral disorder. 

CDC mental health statistics show ADHD, anxiety, behavior problems and depression are the most commonly diagnosed disorders among children. Some of these conditions can occur together, with depression being the most common co-occurring disorder.

The same data shows depression and anxiety diagnoses have increased over time, with depression rising from 5.4% in 2003 to 8.4% in 2012. Anxiety diagnoses increased from 5.5% in 2007 to 6.4% in 2012.

Additionally, diagnoses of childhood developmental disorders increase as children age. Behavioral problems for children ages 6–11 are more common than for younger children.

The CDC reports nearly 80% of children diagnosed with depression receive treatment. Nearly 60% of children diagnosed with anxiety and more than 50% of children diagnosed with behavior disorders receive treatment.

What are the 7 types of mental disorders for children?

The CDC lists the seven most common types of mental disorders in children as:

  1. Anxiety: This mental health condition occurs when children do not outgrow typical fears or have so many fears that they interfere with school or home activities. Examples of symptoms include:
    • Being very afraid when away from parents (separation anxiety)
    • Having extreme fear about a specific thing or situation, such as dogs, insects or going to the doctor (phobias)
    • Being very afraid of school and other places where there are people (social anxiety)
    • Being very worried about the future and bad things happening (general anxiety)
    • Having repeated episodes of sudden, unexpected, intense fear that come with symptoms like heart pounding, having trouble breathing, or feeling dizzy, shaky or sweaty (panic disorder)
  2. Depression: Children may be diagnosed with depression if they persistently feel sad or hopeless. Examples of symptoms include:
    • Feeling sad, hopeless or irritable a lot of the time
    • Not wanting to do or not enjoying doing fun things
    • Showing changes in eating patterns — eating a lot more or a lot less than usual
    • Showing changes in sleep patterns — sleeping a lot more or a lot less than normal
    • Showing changes in energy — being tired and sluggish or tense and restless a lot of the time
    • Having a hard time paying attention
    • Feeling worthless, useless or guilty
    • Showing signs of self-injury and self-destructive behavior
  3. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): According to the CDC, ADHD is one of the most common mental health disorders in children. It is typically diagnosed during childhood and can last into adulthood. ADHD can present itself in three different ways:
    • Predominantly inattentive presentation
    • Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive presentation
    • Combined presentation (a combination of inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive symptoms)
  4. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): Children can experience stressful events that affect how they think and feel. Sometimes children who experience severe stress from things like an injury, death of a family member or violence can be affected long term. The traumatic experience could happen to the child or be observed by them. Symptoms of PTSD include:
    • Reliving the event over and overrepeatedly in thought or in play
    • Having nightmares and sleep problems
    • Becoming very upset when something causes memories of the event
    • Lacking positive emotions
    • Experiencing intense, ongoing fear or sadness
    • Feeling irritable and having angry outbursts
    • Constantly looking for possible threats or being easily startled
    • Acting helpless, hopeless or withdrawn
    • Denying that the event happened or feeling numb
    • Avoiding places or people associated with the event
  5. Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD): Children who act out persistently in a way that causes problems at home, at school or with peers may be diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder. Children with ODD are more likely to act out around people they know, such as family members, care providers or teachers. According to the CDC, behaviors usually begin by 8 years of age and include these symptoms:
    • Being angry or losing one’s temper
    • Arguing with adults or refusing to comply with adults’ rules or requests
    • Displaying resentful or spiteful actions
    • Deliberately annoying others or becoming annoyed with others
    • Blaming other people for one’s own mistakes or misbehavior
  6. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD): Children may be diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder if they frequently experience unwanted thoughts, and the behaviors they feel they must do because of the thoughts, that take up a lot of time, interfere with their activities or make them very upset.Symptoms can include:
    • Having unwanted thoughts, impulses or images that occur over and overrepeatedly, which cause anxiety or distress
    • Having to think about or say something over and overrepeatedly (for example, counting or repeating words over and over silently or out loud)
    • Having to do something over and overrepeatedly (for example, handwashing, placing things in a specific order or checking the same things over and overmultiple times, like whether a door is locked)
    • Having to do something over and over according to certain rules that must be followed exactly to make an obsession go away 
  7. Conduct disorder (CD): Ongoing patterns of aggression or serious violations of rules or laws can lead to a diagnosis of conduct disorder. Children with CD are more likely to be injured and have difficulties with peers. Examples of behaviors that indicate CD include:
    • Breaking rules, such as running away, staying out at night when told not to or skipping school
    • Being aggressive in a way that causes harm, such as bullying, fighting or being cruel to animals
    • Lying, stealing or damaging property on purpose

What is children’s mental health?

Children who are mentally healthy enjoy a positive quality of life and function well at home, at school and in their community. However, the CDC reports that mental health is not simply the absence of mental disorder. Mental wellness is a continuum of reaching developmental and emotional milestones, as well as learning how to positively interact with others and how to deal with problems. 

Why is mental health important for children?

It’s important to understand that a child’s mental health is as important as their physical health. It includes a child’s mental, emotional and behavioral well-being. It affects how children think, feel and act. It also plays a role in how children handle stress, relate to others and make healthy choices. 

Early diagnosis and treatment can make all the difference for a child who needs help. Mental disorders can be successfully treated and managed. Many treatment options are available.

If you have concerns about a child’s behavior, there are many local resources available to you. Heart of Iowa Community Services (HICS) provides coordination and financial support for mental health and disability services to residents in Adair, Adams, Audubon, Clarke, Dallas, Decatur, Guthrie, Lucas, Marion, Ringgold, Taylor, Union and Wayne counties in Iowa.

Learn more about the resources and service coordination available for children through HICS here.