Racial, ethnic differences seen in teens’ use of mental health services

There are substantial racial and ethnic differences in U.S. adolescents’ use of mental health services, according to a study published online June 18 in JAMA Network Open.

Yanlei Ma, Ph.D., from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (2022 to 2023) to estimate racial and ethnic differences in mental health service. The analysis included 23,541 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years.

The researchers found that 5,994 participants reported experiencing a major depressive episode. The percentage of adolescents receiving any mental health visit was 31.7% among non-Hispanic white adolescents but was significantly lower among participants of racial and ethnic minority groups, ranging from 21.9% for non-Hispanic Black adolescents to 25.6% for Hispanic adolescents. There were also significant differences seen in prescription medication use and receipt of care in outpatient, school, and telemental health settings.

Telemental health visits occurred for 17.0% of non-Hispanic white adolescents compared with 8.1% among non-Hispanic Asian, Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander adolescents to 12.0% for Hispanic adolescents. There were few to no racial or ethnic differences for receipt of mental health services from support groups, peer support specialists or recovery coaches, inpatient or residential settings, or emergency departments.

“These findings highlight the need to improve mental health access for adolescent members of racial and ethnic minority groups,” the authors write.

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