WEDNESDAY, Feb. 26, 2025 (HealthDay News) — The prevalence of children’s behavioral and developmental disorders increased nationally from 2019 to 2022, with some conditions linked to caregivers’ mental well-being, according to a study recently published in Pediatric Reports.
Austin Lent, from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, and colleagues examined the nationwide prevalence of childhood behavioral, mental, and developmental problems in U.S. youth (aged 6 to 11 years). The analysis included data from the National Survey of Children’s Health (2019 to 2022).
The researchers observed increases across many conditions, including anxiety (9.5 percent in 2020 to 11 percent in 2022), behavioral and conduct problems (9.2 percent in 2019 to 10.3 percent in 2022), and autism spectrum disorder (3 percent in 2019 to 4.25 percent in 2022). Attention-deficit disorder (ADD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) peaked at 12.8 percent in 2022. Caregivers with “fair” mental health had roughly 2.5 times higher odds of having a child with severe behavioral or conduct issues in 2019, while caregivers with “poor” mental health in 2020 had roughly 3.7 times higher odds of having a child with severe behavioral or conduct issues. Caregiver mental and emotional health were also associated with childhood ADD and ADHD prevalence rates, with caregivers with “poor” mental health having roughly 4.6 times higher odds of having a child with severe ADD/ADHD as caregivers who reported “excellent” mental and emotional health.
“While we did not find any significant links between caregiver mental health and childhood autism or depression, our findings support the need for a holistic approach to addressing childhood mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders, one that includes caregiver well-being as a key factor,” senior author Lea Sacca, Ph.D., also from Florida Atlantic University, said in a statement.
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