24 Jan The Rise of Childhood Anxiety . . . Pre and Post Pandemic
Mental health diagnoses such as ADHD, depression, conduct disorders, and anxiety are among the most prevalent in our youth. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has identified that 9.4% of children ages 3 to 17 were diagnosed with anxiety between 2016 and 2019. This statistic suggests that approximately 5.8 million children are struggling with anxiety symptoms, lending the question of how this impacts their development and long-term mental health. There are gaps in the nation’s ability to track children’s mental health, both the prevalence of children with mental disorders and the data on positive mental health indicators such as good self-esteem and resiliency.
Research published in a 2022 JAMA Pediatrics study identified that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, childhood anxiety was on the rise. Though social distancing practices during the pandemic likely exacerbated growing mental health needs among children, difficulty in access to care and increased rates of depression and anxiety in parents are likely contributors to this growing crisis over the past several years. There is cause to worry about the impact of this growing trend in childhood anxiety disorders.