A 2015 national survey from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services has revealed that, as of 2015, drug use among teenagers ages 12-17 are down from previous years, but that mental illnesses, such as depression, are on the rise.
The Data
According to the survey of teenagers in the United States, the number of teenagers abusing drugs is becoming increasingly smaller, yet the rate for treating substance abuse disorders and mental illnesses has remained relatively low. The Department of Health and Human Services reports that teenagers abusing pain relievers decreased from 6 percent in 2012 to 5 percent in 2013. SAHMSA’s survey reflects much of the same data, though it also shows that the number of teenagers who are able to get the treatment they need has remained low.
Drug abuse may be going down among teens, but the rate of treating substance abuse among teenagers between 2011 and 2015 in the US remained at a dismal 4 percent, compared to the 15 percent of those between the ages of 26 and 44 receiving treatment in the United States.
While drug abuse has been decreasing, the number of teenagers affected by mental illness has increased, going from 12 percent of teenage girls reporting major depressive episodes to 20 percent between 2011 and 2015, and teenage boys with depression rising from 5 percent to 6 percent in the same years. That amounts to an estimated three million teenagers with depression in the US at any given time. Yet out of all those teenagers affected by depressive episodes, only an estimated 39 percent receive any form of treatment.
The Stigma of Being a Teenager
Everyone knows that teenagers are moody and emotional, seemingly mimicking many of the symptoms displayed in those with depression or other mental illnesses, sometimes to their own detriment.
Is it this pre-disposition to moodiness and the belief that teenagers will be teenagers that is causing so many to go without the proper treatment for their substance abuse and or mental illness?
Or is it ignorance on the part of parents and teachers in knowing how and what type of treatment to give to these teenagers? Or is it simply a lack of resources available to those aged 12 to 17 in the United States?
According to these statistics, the efforts on the part of the United States and the many programs within it seem to be making a difference in the lives of many teenagers as far as abusing drugs goes. But we still have a long way to go in terms of treatment and getting the word out there about what is available to those who need it.
Possible Solutions
Perhaps what the United States needs now are more programs geared toward the adults in charge of these teenagers, teaching them the signs of addiction and depression and the difference between a bad attitude and any underlying issues.
Maybe we need more information on the types of treatment that are available in the United States. And maybe we need to examine more closely why both addiction and major depressive episodes are becoming so prominent in today’s society and what can be done to help those who truly stand in need of it.
