Parents of about 15% of kids spoke to school staff or health care providers about their children's emotional and behavior problems in the past year, according to a survey released Wednesday, the first of its kind.
Nearly one out of five boys had parents who discussed such problems, and about one out of 10 girls, says the report from more than 17,000 parents with children ages 4 to 17. The survey, released by the National Center for Health Statistics, was done in 2005 and 2006.
There's no comparable earlier survey, but some children's mental health experts were surprised at the extent of concern, especially for boys -- and divided about whether it's a good or bad sign.
About 5% of children were prescribed medicine, mostly for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Another 5% received other treatment, such as therapy, alone or combined with medication.
Bringing concerns out in the open is a good thing, says David Fassler, a child and adolescent psychiatrist and clinical professor at the University of Vermont. "More American parents are recognizing the symptoms of emotional and behavior problems, and they're asking for help."
The survey was done after pediatric use of ADHD medications and antipsychotics had skyrocketed, according to figures from
Medco Health Solutions, a large pharmacy benefit management firm. Antidepressant prescriptions dropped off after the Food and Drug Administration in 2004 ordered tougher safety warnings about the use of the pills by children.
The high number of worried parents shows "the very narrow range of normalcy allowed for children these days," says behavioral pediatrician Lawrence Diller of Walnut Creek, Calif., author of The Last Normal Child. "Welcome to the age of anxiety, where more is expected of children academically and in self-discipline, while both parents are working, so there's less support and structure."
For children who do get counseling, 39% receive it at school and 27% at their doctor's office, the survey finds. More pediatricians are bringing mental health experts into their offices or bringing them on board as consultants, says Jane Foy, a pediatrician and spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Pediatricians are hearing more about mental health problems, and therapy services are sparse, she says.
Some school districts have increased their mental health services for students, says Kathy Cowan of the National Association of School Psychologists, "but there's still a huge dearth of help for kids in many districts."
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