Study Says More U.S. Children Have Behavior Problems

By Andrew Stern

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Nearly three times as many U.S. children have mental or behavioral problems than 20 years ago, a trend that needs to be met with more support for stressed-out families and not just medications, researchers said on Monday.

A 1996 survey of doctors found that nearly one in five children paying them a visit had recognizable psychosocial problems, compared to less than 7 percent in 1979, the report published in the journal Pediatrics said.

The researchers were careful to discount the higher profile in recent years of childhood behavioral problems such as attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity disorder -- for which millions have been prescribed the drug Ritalin.

``We are quite satisfied that (greater recognition) is not a major factor'' in their findings that an increasing number of children have behavioral problems, said Thomas McInerny of the Children's Hospital at Strong at the University of Rochester, New York.

Rather, McInerny pointed to the study's findings that children receiving Medicaid, the health program for the poor, and children from single-parent families were twice as likely to have behavioral problems as their peers who were not living in poverty or who had two-parent families.

``We need to recognize that these families are stressed, and when they are stressed, it's difficult for them to respond to their children's emotional needs,'' McInerny said in a telephone interview.

The 1996 survey of more than 21,000 children between the ages of 4 and 15 seen by nearly 400 clinicians found that 9 percent of the children suffered from either attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity disorder, he said, which was close to the 7 percent prevalence found in other studies.

Overall, the 1996 survey found that nearly 19 percent of children had mental or behavioral problems.

``Psychosocial problems are the most common chronic condition for pediatric visits, eclipsing asthma and heart disease. Moreover, they are among the most disabling of pediatric conditions, with mental health symptoms accounting for fully one-third of all school days missed by adolescents,'' lead author Kelly Kelleher of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine wrote in the report.

Similarly, studies have shown a rising prevalence of mental disorders, especially depression, among U.S. adults. Since the 1996 survey there has been an explosion in the use of anti-depressants, primarily by adults, and drugs like Ritalin, to combat hyperactivity in children.

McInerny said many people have been helped by the drugs, but agreed with recent criticisms that they have been overprescribed for children -- especially since the drugs' long-term effects were still unclear.

Their research pointed instead to a growing need for parent training, family support and specialty mental health care.

For general physicians, patients' mental problems were among the most time-consuming and frustrating to deal with, suggesting the need for more active partnerships with mental health experts. Depressed patients are known to suffer more physical health problems, the report added.

-- Ronnie Ritalin (honey@I.just dosed the kids), June 07, 2000

Answers

Sick families raise sick children. The product of dysfunctional America is becoming our fastest growing industry.

-- Jerry Springer (put the fun@in.dysfunctional), June 07, 2000.

LACK OF GODLY FEAR. WE,RE REAPING AN UGLY CROP. AMERICA NEEDS REPENTANCE BEFORE A HOLY GOD. IT,S CALLED=RESPECT--FOR GOD & NIEGHBOR. starting in 60,s the age of ''do your own thing started,we think we,re free. but not so!! we,ve become a nation of slaves to lust. GOD created man to be dependant--we need HIS wisdom. all else will fail & lead to downfall. education is not -wisdom--just educated fools.

-- al-d. (dogs@zianet.com), June 07, 2000.

I confess. I birthed all these children! How many? Oh...I'm only responsible for the three weirdos I birthed. Ritalin? Hmmm...never let them take drugs. Depression? Hmmm......never got depressed. Does a high-energy level in parents count for anything? I just KNOW I did SOMETHING wrong. They all LOOK sane right now, but I never know what will happen to them when they turn 70, and that guilt will be right back in MY lap.

-- Anita (Anita_S3@hotmail.com), June 07, 2000.

This piece does not say exactly who submitted this research. But I bet this:

The proposed solution involves government granting large amounts of money to those 'mental health experts' who can fix this terrible problem, those experts being incidentally the same ones who commissioned the research in the first place.

-- Scarecrow (Somewhere@Over.Rainbow), June 08, 2000.

"Nearly three times as many U.S. children have mental or behavioral problems than 20 years ago"

How about, "Mental or behavioral problems recognized at three times the rate of 20 years ago"

Just a thought.

-- aqua (aqu@fin.a), June 08, 2000.