Use of Selected Nonmedication Mental Health Services by Adolescent Boys and Girls With Serious Emotional or Behavioral Difficulties: United States, 2010–2012

August 27, 2014

Mental health is a key component of a child’s overall wellbeing. Previous research using data from the National Health Interview Survey found that about 6% of adolescents have serious emotional or behavioral difficulties. Both medication and nonmedication services have been found to be effective for treatment. Two recent reports from the National Center for Health Statistics have presented estimates of medication use among U.S. adolescents. The use of prescription medication for emotional or behavioral difficulties was higher among boys than girls.

A new report from NCHS describes differences between boys and girls in the use of nonmedication mental health services in various school and nonschool settings among adolescents aged 12–17 with serious emotional or behavioral difficulties.

Key Findings from the Report:

  • About 4% of adolescents aged 12–17 had a serious emotional or behavioral difficulty and received nonmedication mental health services in the past 6 months.
  • Nearly 71% of adolescents with serious emotional or behavioral difficulties received nonmedication mental health services in the past 6 months.
  • Among adolescents with serious emotional or behavioral difficulties, boys were more likely than girls to receive nonmedication mental health services.
  • Boys with serious emotional or behavioral difficulties were more likely than girls to receive services in school settings.
  • The percentage of boys and girls with serious emotional or behavioral difficulties receiving nonschool services was similar for all settings except for the emergency department.

 

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by briantsai

National and State Patterns of Teen Births in the United States, 1940–2013

August 20, 2014

Teen childbearing in the United States has been declining for more than half a century. Except for a brief but steep increase in teen birth rates from 1986 to 1991 and smaller upturns during 1969–1970, 1979–1980, and 2005–2007, birth rates for U.S. teenagers have fallen since 1957. The birth rate in 2013, 26.6 births per 1,000 teenagers aged 15–19, was less than one-half of the rate in 1991 (61.8 per 1,000) and less than one-third of the rate in 1957 (96.3), when the United States rate was at its peak. The overall reductions in teen birth rates have been shared across all age groups, race and ethnicity groups, and states.

A new NCHS report presents trends from 1940 through 2013 in national birth rates for teenagers, with particular focus on the period since 1991. The percent changes in rates for 1991–2012 and
the for 2007–2012 are presented for the United States and for states. Preliminary data for 2013 are shown where available.

Key Findings from the Report:

  • Teen childbearing has been on a long-term downward trend, with only four exceptions since peaking in 1957. The rate in 1957 was 96.3 births per 1,000 women aged 15–19. The rate dropped almost one-third to 65.5 in 1969.
  • The rate then increased 4% in 1969–1970 (68.3) before resuming a decline that continued until 1979–1980 and again until 1986 (50.2). From 1986 through 1991, the birth rate rose 23%. Since 1991, the rate has fallen 57% and the decline has been continuous except for a 5% rise during 2005–2007.
  • The pace of decline accelerated from 2007 forward, with the rate reaching 26.6 per 1,000 in 2013, a drop of 36% from 2007.
  • The 2013 rate is less than one-third of the 1957 peak rate.

 

Leave a Comment » | Births, Teen Births | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by briantsai

Recent Declines in Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States

August 13, 2014

There were sharp increases in nonmarital childbearing from 2002 to 2007, following the steady increases beginning in the 1980s. The upward trends have mainly reversed since 2007–2008. In addition, the nature of nonmarital childbearing may be changing as cohabiting unions have increased over the last few decades in the United States along with pregnancies within those unions. Births to unmarried women are at greater risk for adverse outcomes, including low birth weight, preterm birth, and infant mortality. Social and financial supports for unmarried mothers may be limited.

A new NCHS report describes recent trends in nonmarital births from the National Vital Statistics System and in cohabitation for unmarried mothers using data from the National Survey of Family Growth.

Key Findings from the Report:

  • Nonmarital births and birth rates have declined 7% and 14%, respectively, since peaking in the late 2000s.
  • Births to unmarried women totaled 1,605,643 in 2013. About 4 in 10 U.S. births were to unmarried women in each year from 2007 through 2013.
  • Nonmarital birth rates fell in all age groups under 35 since 2007; rates increased for women aged 35 and over.
  • Birth rates were down more for unmarried black and Hispanic women than for unmarried non-Hispanic white women.
  • Nonmarital births are increasingly likely to occur within cohabiting unions—rising from 41% of recent births in 2002 to 58% in 2006–2010.

 

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by briantsai

STATE VITALS: MAINE

August 11, 2014

Maine‘s teen birth rate is also lower than the overall U.S. rate (19.4% vs. 29.4%).  Maine also has a significant larger proportion of its population without health insurance than the national average.

However, Maine has mortality rates that are lower than the total U.S. for the following causes: cancer, chronic lower respiratory disease, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, kidney disease, and suicide.

Leave a Comment » | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by briantsai