Child and Adolescent Mental Health

The future of our country depends on the mental health and strength of our young people. However, many children have mental health problems that interfere with normal development and functioning. In the US today, one in ten children suffer from a mental disorder severe enough to cause some level of impairment.

The mental disorders affecting children and adolescents include the following:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD, ADD)
• Autism Spectrum Disorders (Pervasive Developmental Disorders)
• Bipolar Disorder
• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Depression
• Eating Disorders
• Childhood-Onset Schizophrenia

Related Information

• Treatment
  • Treatment of Children with Mental Disorders
  • Your Child and Medication
• Children and Violence
• Clinical Trials

Research Reports and Collaborations

• Child and Adolescent Research Consortium
• Child Abuse and Neglect Working Group
• Blueprint for Change: Research on Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• Surgeon General Reports
  • "Children and Mental Health", Chapter Three from Mental Health: Report of the Surgeon General
  • Youth Violence
  • Report of the Surgeon General's Conference on Children's Mental Health: A National Action Agenda

News and Updates

NIMH Research on Treatment for Adolescents with Depression Study (TADS): Combination Treatment Most Effective in Adolescents with Depression

Imaging Study Shows Brain Maturing

Publications/Resource Materials

Read, print, or order NIMH booklets, fact sheets, and other publications on child and adolescent mental health such as:

More Publications>>