Mental Health Hospitalizations
Rising for CA Children, Youth
While rates of hospitalization of adults for mental health issues have fallen in recent years, rates are increasing for California's youth, especially for older teenagers. Mental health hospitalization rates of teens ages 15-19 rose 34 percent between 2007 and 2012 (from 6.7 to 9.0 per 1,000), according to newly available data from kidsdata.org.
In 2012, there were 12,538 hospitalizations for mental health issues among children ages 5-14 in California (a rate of 2.5 per 1,000), and 25,125 among youth ages 15-19 (9.0 per 1,000).
The statewide rate of hospitalizations has fluctuated in the past decade, falling for both children and youth between 2002 and 2007, then rising between 2007 and 2012.
Among counties with available data in 2012, the rate of hospitalizations due to mental health issues ranged from 0.6 to 4.7 per 1,000 children ages 5-14, and from 2.6 to 11.7 per 1,000 teens ages 15-19.
See mental health hospitalization data by age and county >>
Nationwide, the prevalence of mental health disorders in children and youth is rising, with an estimated one in five American children experiencing mental disorders ranging from mild to life-threatening, according to a 2013 CDC study.
Experts who have studied mental health hospitalizations of children and youth say that while rates of these hospitalizations are higher, in-patient stays are shorter than in previous years because of changes in health insurance authorizations for hospitalization and a decrease in available psychiatric beds.
Read more about mental health hospitalizations in California, including policy implications >>
See Mental Health Data on California Children and Youth
Helpful Links
Mental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Mental Health Surveillance Among Children — United States, 2005–2011, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
National Center for Children in Poverty: Children’s Mental Health
National Institute of Mental Health: Child and Adolescent Mental Health
Social and Emotional Development in Children and Adolescents Knowledge Path
Webinar: Making the Most of the Redesigned Kidsdata
Interested in learning more about how to use kidsdata.org in your work? Check out our upcoming webinar on Feb. 25! You'll learn how to use kidsdata.org to find the data you want, tailor the data format for your needs, export data for analysis, and communicate data in reports, presentations, proposals, social media and more. REGISTER >> |
Hospitalizations for Mental Health Issues, by Age Group (California, 2002-2012) 
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