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_______________________________

Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach

School of Industrial & Labor Relations-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies

Cornell University

16 East 34th Street, 4th floor---------------------- Stuart Basefsky

New York, NY 10016 -------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau

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Congressional Research Service (CRS)

 

Prevalence of Mental Illness in the United States: Data Sources and Estimates

Erin Bagalman, Analyst in Health Policy

Angela Napili, Information Research Specialist

April 24, 2013

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43047.pdf

[full-text, 11 pages]

 

Summary

Determining how many people have a mental illness can be difficult, and prevalence estimates

vary. While numerous surveys include questions related to mental illness, few provide prevalence

estimates of diagnosable mental illness (e.g., major depressive disorder as opposed to feeling

depressed, or generalized anxiety disorder as opposed to feeling anxious), and fewer still provide

national prevalence estimates of diagnosable mental illness. This report briefly describes the

methodology and results of three large surveys (funded in whole or in part by the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services) that provide national prevalence estimates of

diagnosable mental illness: the National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R), the National

Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A), and the National Survey on

Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). The NCS-R and the NCS-A have the advantage of identifying

specific mental illnesses, but they are a decade old. The NSDUH does not identify specific mental

illnesses, but it has the advantage of being conducted annually.

 

Between February 2001 and April 2003, NCS-R staff interviewed more than 9,000 adults aged 18

or older. Analyses of NCS-R data have yielded different prevalence estimates. One analysis of

NCS-R data estimated that 26.2% of adults had a mental illness within a 12-month period

(hereinafter called 12-month prevalence). Another analysis of NCS-R data estimated the 12-

month prevalence of mental illness to be 32.4% among adults. A third analysis of NCS-R data

estimated the 12-month prevalence of mental illness excluding substance use disorders to be

24.8% among adults. The 12-month prevalence of serious mental illness was estimated to be

5.8% among adults, based on NCS-R data.

 

Between February 2001 and January 2004, NCS-A staff interviewed more than 10,000

adolescents aged 13 to 17. Using NCS-A data, researchers estimated the 12-month prevalence of

mental illness to be 40.3% among adolescents. Some have suggested that the current approach to

diagnosing mental illness identifies people who should not be considered mentally ill. The 12-

month prevalence of serious mental illness was estimated to be 8.0% among adolescents, based

on NCS-A data.

 

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is an annual survey of approximately

70,000 adults and adolescents aged 12 years or older in the United States. According to the 2011

NSDUH, the estimated 12-month prevalence of mental illness excluding substance use disorders

was 19.6% among adults aged 18 or older; this estimate was stable between 2008 and 2011. The

estimated 12-month prevalence of serious mental illness (excluding substance use disorders) was

5.0% among adults. Although the NSDUH collects information related to mental illness (e.g.,

symptoms of depression) from adolescents aged 12 to 17, it does not produce estimates of mental

illness for that population.

 

The prevalence estimates discussed in this report may raise questions for Congress. Should

federal mental health policy focus on adults or adolescents with any mental illness (including

some whose mental illnesses may be mild and even transient) or on those with serious mental

illness? Should substance use disorders be addressed through the same policies as other mental

illnesses? Members of Congress may approach mental health policy differently depending in part

on how they answer such questions.

 

Contents

Introduction ...................................................................................................................................... 1

Estimating Prevalence of Mental Illness.......................................................................................... 2

National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) ....................................................................... 3

Prevalence of Any Mental Illness Among Adults ...................................................................... 4

Prevalence of Serious Mental Illness Among Adults ................................................................ 4

National Comorbidity Survey Replication Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A) ................................ 5

Prevalence of Any Mental Illness Among Adolescents ............................................................. 5

Prevalence of Serious Mental Illness Among Adolescents ........................................................ 6

National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) ...................................................................... 6

Prevalence of Any Mental Illness Among Adults ...................................................................... 7

Prevalence of Serious Mental Illness Among Adults ................................................................ 7

Concluding Comments .................................................................................................................... 7

 

Tables

Table 1. Examples of Survey Instruments Assessing Mental Illness ............................................... 3

 

Contacts

Author Contact Information............................................................................................................. 8

Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................... 8

 

 

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