Annual Research Review: Secular trends in child and adolescent mental health
2014/12/12 by Stephan Collishaw · 802 citations
Medicine · Psychology · #Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder #Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development #Clinical psychology #Cohort #Cohort study #Demography #Environmental health #Epidemiology #Medicine #Mental Health Treatment and Access #Mental health #Population #Psychiatric epidemiology #Psychiatry #Psychology #Secular variation
paper · doi:10.1111/jcpp.12372
published in Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 56(3), 370-393 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2014/12/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Child and adolescent mental health problems are common, associated with wide-ranging functional impairments, and show substantial continuities into adult life. It is therefore important to understand the extent to which the prevalence of mental health problems has changed over time, and to identify reasons behind any trends in mental health. SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY: This review evaluates evidence on whether the population prevalence of child and adolescent mental health problems has changed. The primary focus of the review is on epidemiological cross-cohort comparisons identified by a systematic search of the literature (using the Web of Knowledge database). FINDINGS: Clinical diagnosis and treatment of child and adolescent psychiatric disorders increased over recent decades. Epidemiological comparisons of unselected population cohorts using equivalent assessments of mental health have found little evidence of an increased rate of ADHD, but cross-cohort comparisons of rates of ASD are lacking at this time. Findings do suggest substantial secular change in emotional problems and antisocial behaviour in high-income countries, including periods of increase and decrease in symptom prevalence. Evidence from low- and middle-income countries is very limited. Possible explanations for trends in child and adolescent mental health are discussed. The review also addresses how cross-cohort comparisons can provide valuable complementary information on the aetiology of mental illness.
Citations
Cited by
- Adolescent girls’ explanations of high rates of low mood and anxiety in their population: a co-produced qualitative study
- Longitudinal Patterns of Strengths Among Youth with Psychiatric Disorders: A Latent Profile Transition Analysis
- Characteristics of children with a psychiatric disorder in 1999, 2004 and 2017: an analysis of the national child mental health surveys of England
- Family Cohesion and Behavioural Problems in Young Adolescents: Mediating Effects of Neighbourhood Cohesion and Moderating Roles of Individual and Family Structure Factors
- Cross-sectional social network study of adolescent peer group variation in substance use and mental wellbeing: The importance of the meso level
- Effects of Parental Warmth and Behavioral Control on Adolescent Externalizing and Internalizing Trajectories Across Cultures
- Annual Research Review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future directions
- Adolescent girls’ explanations of high rates of low mood and anxiety in their population: A co-produced qualitative study
- Using the Internet to Cope With Emotional Problems: The Role of Preference of Online Communication in Adolescents Across 18 Countries
- Global Well-Being and Mental Health in the Internet Age
- Are mental health awareness efforts contributing to the rise in reported mental health problems? A call to test the prevalence inflation hypothesis
- Long-term physical health conditions and youth anxiety and depression: Is there a causal link?
- Does social disadvantage persist over generations due to an uneven distribution of mental health diagnoses? A longitudinal investigation of Finnish register data
- Extrinsic goals benefit capitalism but not well-being. Rethinking the economy’s goal for a healthier future
- Self‐reported changes in adolescent mental health, deliberate self‐harm, substance use, and help‐seeking behavior before and after the COVID‐19 pandemic – A Finnish time‐trend study
- How Do Urban Environments Affect Young People’s Mental Health? A Novel Conceptual Framework to Bridge Public Health, Planning, and Neurourbanism
- Structure and trends of externalizing and internalizing psychiatric symptoms and gender differences among adolescents in the US from 1991 to 2018
- Cross‐cohort change in adolescent outcomes for children with mental health problems
- Association between depression diagnosis and educational attainment trajectories: an historical cohort study using linked data
- Our future: a Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing. [europepmc]
- Paradoxical Trend for Improvement in Mental Health With Aging: A Community-Based Study of 1,546 Adults Aged 21-100 Years. [europepmc]
- Anxiety and depression symptoms and alcohol use among adolescents - a cross sectional study of Norwegian secondary school students. [europepmc]
- Temporal trends in adolescents' self-reported psychosomatic health complaints from 1980-2016: A systematic review and meta-analysis. [europepmc]
- Mental health and well-being trends among children and young people in the UK, 1995-2014: analysis of repeated cross-sectional national health surveys. [europepmc]
- Cross-cohort change in adolescent outcomes for children with mental health problems. [europepmc]
- Trends in Suicide Among Youth Aged 10 to 19 Years in the United States, 1975 to 2016. [europepmc]
- Use of the Principles of Design Thinking to Address Limitations of Digital Mental Health Interventions for Youth: Viewpoint. [europepmc]
- Young People Seeking Help Online for Mental Health: Cross-Sectional Survey Study. [europepmc]
- School-based interventions to prevent anxiety and depression in children and young people: a systematic review and network meta-analysis. [europepmc]
- Trends in self-reported psychological distress among college and university students from 2010 to 2018. [europepmc]
- Annual Research Review: Adolescent mental health in the digital age: facts, fears, and future directions. [europepmc]
- Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. [europepmc]
- Change in prevalence of self-harm from 2002 to 2018 among Norwegian adolescents. [europepmc]
- National Trends in Mental Health Care for US Adolescents. [europepmc]
- Multidisciplinary research priorities for the COVID-19 pandemic: a call for action for mental health science. [europepmc]
- Cross-National Time Trends in Adolescent Mental Well-Being From 2002 to 2018 and the Explanatory Role of Schoolwork Pressure. [europepmc]
- Effects of Parental Warmth and Behavioral Control on Adolescent Externalizing and Internalizing Trajectories Across Cultures. [europepmc]
- Psychological impacts of "screen time" and "green time" for children and adolescents: A systematic scoping review. [europepmc]
- Temporal trends in annual incidence rates for psychiatric disorders and self-harm among children and adolescents in the UK, 2003-2018. [europepmc]
- Time trends and disparities in anxiety among adolescents, 2012-2018. [europepmc]
- Adolescent well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Are girls struggling more than boys? [europepmc]
- Rising Rates of Adolescent Depression in the United States: Challenges and Opportunities in the 2020s. [europepmc]
- A systematic review of the mental health changes of children and young people before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. [europepmc]
- Changes in Depression and Anxiety Among Children and Adolescents From Before to During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. [europepmc]
Related