HEALTH4.C Adolescent depression: Percentage of youth ages 12–17 who had at least one Major Depressive Episode (MDE) with severe impairmenta in the past year by age, gender, race and Hispanic origin, and poverty status, 2004–2020

excel icon HEALTH4C Excel Table
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Characteristic 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Total 6.2 6.0 5.5 5.5 6.0 5.8 5.7 5.7 6.3 7.7 8.2 8.8 9.0 9.4 10.0 11.1 12.0
Age
Ages 12–13 3.5 3.3 2.7 2.5 3.2 3.2 3.0 2.8 3.7 4.1 4.9 5.1 4.7 4.4 5.1 6.8 7.9
Ages 14–15 6.3 6.6 6.0 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.1 5.9 7.1 9.1 8.5 9.8 9.4 10.4 10.9 11.9 13.0
Ages 16–17 8.8 8.1 7.5 7.9 8.4 7.7 7.7 8.1 8.0 9.7 10.9 11.1 12.4 12.7 13.7 14.5 15.3
Gender
Male 3.3 2.9 2.6 3.0 2.9 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.0 3.5 3.7 3.8 4.4 4.7 5.1 6.0 5.9
Female 9.2 9.4 8.4 8.2 9.3 8.6 8.2 8.3 9.8 12.0 13.0 14.0 13.7 14.2 15.2 16.5 18.4
Race and Hispanic originb
White, non-Hispanic 6.5 6.3 5.8 5.9 6.5 6.1 6.2 5.9 6.5 7.8 8.9 9.7 10.0 9.8 10.7 11.4 13.0
Black, non-Hispanic 5.0 5.1 3.9 5.1 4.6 5.7 4.5 5.4 4.8 6.2 6.4 5.9 6 7.1 6.9 8.0 9.7
American Indian or Alaska Native 4.9 4.1 6.6 2.6 6.5 4.3 5.4 9.8 2.6 3.8 4.9 5.7 3.9 8.4 11.5
Asian 4.4 3.7 5.3 3.9 4.7 5.0 4.3 5.0 2.6 8.1 6.6 5.5 9.3 7.9 9.2 11.3 10.3
Two or more races 9.3 7.7 8.0 7.8 10.2 6.0 5.9 8.1 9.0 8.4 8.9 12.6 10.9 10.9 14.2 14.9 19.7
Hispanic 6.1 6.2 5.4 5.1 5.1 5.4 5.4 5.2 7.3 8.2 8.2 8.5 8.2 9.9 10.0 11.7 11.3
Poverty statusc
Below 100% poverty 5.2 5.2 5.4 5.2 5.7 5.5 5.5 5.9 6.6 7.2 8.3 7.6 8.4 8.7 8.6 10.0 8.3
100%–199% poverty 6.0 6.7 6.2 6.1 6.8 6.2 6.1 6.2 6.3 7.9 9.2 9.6 9.1 9.7 10.5 11.5 13.0
200% poverty and above 6.5 6.0 5.2 5.5 5.8 5.8 5.5 5.4 6.3 7.8 7.8 8.9 9.1 9.5 10.4 11.4 12.8
‡ Low precision.
a Impairment is based on the Sheehan Disability Scale (SDS)1 role domains, which measure the impact of a disorder on a person's life. Impairment is defined as the highest severity level of role impairment across four domains: (1) home management, (2) work, (3) close relationships with others, and (4) social life. Ratings greater than or equal to 7 on a 0 to 10 scale were considered severe impairment. Respondents with unknown severe impairment data were excluded.
b The 1997 U.S. Office of Management and Budget standards were used to collect race and ethnicity data. Persons could select one or more of five racial groups: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or Asian. Respondents could choose more than one race. Those reporting more than one race were classified as "Two or more races." Data on Hispanic origin are collected separately. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race. Included in the total but not shown separately are persons of Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander origin.
c Estimates are based on a definition of poverty level that incorporates information on family income, size, and composition and is calculated as a percentage of the U.S. Census Bureau's poverty thresholds.
NOTE: MDE is defined as in the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV),2 which specifies a period of at least 2 weeks when a person experienced a depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities and had a majority of specified depression symptoms. Respondents with unknown past-year MDE were excluded. Caution should be used when comparing estimates between 2020 and prior years because of methodological changes for 2020. See the 2020 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Methodological Summary and Definitions for details.
SOURCE: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
1 Leon, A. C., Olfson, M., Portera, L., Farber, L., & Sheehan, D. V. (1997). Assessing psychiatric impairment in primary care with the Sheehan Disability Scale. International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research, 27(2), 93–105.
2 American Psychiatric Association. (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) (4th ed.). Washington, DC: Author.

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