The Children’s Health bi-annual Beyond ABC Report was recently released and gives an analysis of the influences on child well-being in North Texas. Noteworthy discoveries in the report highlight a notable increase in childhood anxiety and depression.
According to the study, an alarming increase in anxiety and concerning thoughts is affecting children, attributed to factors such as the influence of the digital news cycle, the repercussions of COVID-19, gun violence, global events and the negative effects of social media. In fact, over 38% of high school students express experiencing persistent feelings of hopelessness or sadness every day for a period exceeding two weeks.
Children’s Health reported that in 2020, emergency rooms saw a 24% increase in mental health-related visits for children ages 5 to 11 and a 31% increase for older children. More than 2,000 children sought help for suicidal thoughts and behaviors at Children's Health facilities in Dallas and Plano alone.
However, the problem only begins there. Approximately 20% of uninsured children in the U.S. live in Texas, so many of those hospital stays were paid out of pocket. In the five counties in the North Texas study (Dallas, Collin, Cooke, Denton, Fannin and Grayson), 17% of children live below the poverty line.
“Many of our community’s children experience other extreme hardships including living with generational poverty, food insecurity and poor nutrition, unstable housing, domestic violence, physical and mental abuse and interruptions to their education,” Children’s Health President and CEO Christopher J. Durovich said in a statement. “These hardships directly impact their overall health.”
Local Profile previously reported that North Texas has another crisis — a pediatric mental health provider shortage. Collin County alone has only 17 professionals per 100,000 children.
At a time when suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ages 10 - 14 and 25 - 34, according to the CDC, families with children facing a mental health crisis are often forced to resort to the next available option: ERs. But, as a study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics reported in February 2023, more than a quarter of all children in the sample returned to the ER within a 6-month period.
“ERs are the last stop when all else has failed, and they, too, lack the resources to support or even discharge, these patients,” said Hannah E. Karpman, professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
In the coming years, Children’s Health recommends increasing resources for children, especially those suffering from mental health issues through school programs and additional community professionals.
