Study: More Children Going to Hospitals for Mental Illness
U.S. families increasingly are choosing to hospitalize children for mental health issues, such as anxiety disorder, according to a study published this week in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Using data from the National Hospital Discharge Survey for the 10-year period beginning in 1996, researchers found that psychiatric hospital discharges rates increased by more than 80% for children ages five to 13, and by 42% for older teens. Study author Joseph Blader of Stony Brook State University of New York said that hospitalizations usually are the last resort for families and that their decision often is based on whether the child might be considered a danger to themselves or others.
- "More U.S. Kids in Hospital for Mental Illness" (Joelving, Reuters, 8/3).