A new study reveals that fewer than half of U.S. adolescents with major depression receive treatment, with significant disparities tied to location, gender, and race.
Researchers led by Su Chen Tan at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, analyzed data from the 2022 U.S. National Survey on Drug Use and Health, focusing on adolescents aged 12 to 17 who experienced major depressive episodes (MDE).
The study assessed mental health service use based on rural versus urban residence, race/ethnicity, gender, age, insurance coverage, and poverty level.
The study found that 19.2% of adolescents reported experiencing MDE, yet only 47.5% received treatment in the past year. Adolescents in rural areas were significantly less likely to receive specialist care (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.64) or telehealth services (aOR, 0.64) compared with urban peers.
Conversely, insured adolescents were much more likely to access telehealth services, with public insurance showing aOR 2.99 and private insurance aOR 3.82.
The study also highlighted differences by age, gender, and race. Older adolescents were less likely to use school-based services (aOR, 0.52), while female adolescents were more likely than males to receive any mental health treatment (aOR, 1.59). Black adolescents had significantly lower odds of receiving any mental health care compared with non-Hispanic White adolescents (aOR, 0.36).
“Our findings continue to illustrate the persisting inequity in mental health treatment among adolescents from marginalized groups amidst the COVID-19 pandemic,” the authors wrote. They emphasized the urgent need for tailored strategies to reduce these disparities.
