Child and adolescent mental health are in crisis, according to the 2023 American Psychological Association Trends Report. Conditions have been worsening for over a decade, with a 40% reported rise in feelings of persistent hopelessness and suicidality in teens from 2011 to 2021. The pandemic, which has placed additional stress on public health and social systems, exacerbated these symptoms as youths lost parents or caregivers to COVID, experienced increased economic strain as caregivers lost jobs, experienced increased physical and emotional abuse at home, and lost access to safety nets, support, and services provided through their schools.
According to the CDC, one in five teens has seriously considered suicide, and one in ten have attempted it. These alarming symptoms have been compounded in groups that typically experience discrimination: girls, LGBTQ+ youth, and those experiencing racism. And the problem is global—according to the World Health Organization, 1 in 7 people ages 10 to 19 experiences a mental disorder such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, eating disorders, self-harm, risk-taking behaviors, and psychosis, and suicide is the 4th leading cause of death in people ages 15 to 19.
On October 30, 2023, the University of Chicago Center for Chronic Disease Research and Policy convenes policymakers, researchers, clinicians, parents, and community members to address this critical problem at its 11th annual research symposium, Strengthening Adolescent Health and Health Policy, at the Gordon Center for Integrative Science at the University of Chicago. Featuring a keynote by Illinois Department of Public Health director Sameer Vohra, as well as lectures by Karam Radwan, director of the Child and Adolescent Fellowship program at the University of Chicago, Chuka Emezue, assistant professor of nursing at Rush University, and Melissa Kull, senior researcher at Chapin Hall, the daylong event also includes a poster session, lunch, and opportunities for attendees to mingle as part of the CDRP’s mission to foster conversations on contemporary research and policy and build partnerships across institutions to improve public health.
“Child and adolescent mental health affects everyone—not just youths but parents, grandparents, teachers, social workers, and members of the communities in which they live,” says CDRP faculty affiliate and symposium co-organizer Anna Volerman, Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at University of Chicago. A primary care physician and a health services researcher, Volerman researches new approaches in clinical and community settings with the goal of reducing long-standing systemic and structural inequities to help children and their families thrive in the settings where they live, learn, work, and play.
Mental health problems are widespread but often difficult for caregivers to identify, notes Volerman. “We’re seeing higher rates of depression, anxiety, trauma, and post-traumatic stress among children and adolescents,” she says. “But people don't say, ‘I think my child has post-traumatic stress’—they say, ‘My child is struggling with communication. We're struggling with behaviors. We’re struggling with a child running away from home.’ When you dig deeper you can understand what is behind it.”
“The pandemic took away many of the social supports that existed for youth,” says Volerman. “Some children were lucky because their parents were home more, but some children were not—and adults were facing additional stressors such as unemployment or lack of childcare that created a more troubled atmosphere at home for many.”
