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Majorities of the Public Believe Several Mental Health
Conditions Are More Common Among Children and Adolescents Today than
They Were10 Years Ago
ROCHESTER, N.Y. – May 11, 2005
– Majorities of U.S. adults believe that mental health conditions such
as depression (71%), attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD) (63%), anxiety disorders (63%) and eating disorders (62%) are
more common among children and teens today than they were 10 years ago.
Nearly half (47%) believe that learning disabilities are more common
and more than one-third (36%) believe autism is more common among
children and teens today.
These are some of the results of a Harris Interactive?
online survey of 2,102 U.S. adults conducted between April 26 and 28,
2005 for The Wall Street Journal Online’s Health Industry Edition.
While
many believe these conditions are more prevalent today in young people,
they are less clear about why this is. For example, the study shows:
- A
majority (54%) of adults who think ADHD is more common today also
believe the number of children and teens with this condition has
increased because doctors are more likely to diagnose the condition.
More than one in five (22%) believe this increase is primarily due to
people being more likely to talk to their doctors while 19 percent
believe it has to do with children being more likely to suffer from the
condition.
- More than two in five (42%) adults who believe
autism is more prevalent today believe the number with this condition
has increased because doctors are more likely to diagnose the
condition, compared to one-third (33%) who believe the increase is
primarily due to children being more likely to suffer from the
condition or 16 percent thinking it is because people are more likely
to talk to their doctor.
- Forty-one percent (41%) of adults who
think eating disorders are more common today think so because they
believe children are more likely to suffer from the condition, compared
to 26 percent who think it is because doctors are more likely to
diagnose the condition and 23 percent who think it is because people
are more likely to talk to their doctors.
- More than one-third
(36%) of those who believe depression is more common today believe the
number of children and teens with this condition has increased because
doctors are more likely to diagnose depression. However one-quarter
(25%) believes it is because children are more likely to suffer from
the condition, and 31 percent think it’s because people are more likely
to talk to their doctors.
Many adults believe that
prescription drugs used to treat many of these conditions are
prescribed too often, while smaller percentages think they are not
prescribed often enough or are prescribed as often as they should be.
And, significant numbers responded that they "don’t know" about the use
of prescribed drugs for these conditions, particularly for learning
disabilities, eating disorders and autism.
TABLE 1
PERCEIVED CHANGES IN PREVALENCE OF CONDITIONS
"Based
on what you know or have heard, compared to ten years ago, do you think
that the following types of health problems are more common or less
common among children and teenagers?"
Base: All Adults
|
| More Common
| Less Common
| About the Same
| Don’t Know
| Depression
| %
| 71
| 2
| 20
| 7
| Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (also known as ADHD)
| %
| 63
| 4
| 25
| 8
| Anxiety disorders (such as obsessive compulsive disorder, generalized, panic or separation anxiety)
| %
| 63
| 3
| 23
| 11
| Eating disorders (such as bulimia or anorexia)
| %
| 62
| 6
| 25
| 8
| Learning disabilities
| %
| 47
| 5
| 38
| 9
| Autism
| %
| 36
| 7
| 36
| 21
|
Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
TABLE 2
REASONS WHY CONDITIONS ARE MORE COMMON TODAY
"Do
you think the number of children and teenagers with each of these
medical conditions has increased primarily because they are more likely to suffer from the condition, because doctors are more likely to diagnose the condition, or because people are more likely to talk to their doctors about the condition?"
Base: Condition(s) More Common Today
Bases are those who say particular condition is more common
|
| Children Are More Likely to Suffer from the Condition
| Doctors Are More Likely to Diagnose the Condition
| People Are More Likely to Talk to Their Doctors
| Don’t Know
| Eating disorders (such as bulimia or anorexia) (n=1,304)
| %
| 41
| 26
| 23
| 10
| Autism (n=751)
| %
| 33
| 42
| 16
| 9
| Learning disabilities (n=989)
| %
| 30
| 37
| 24
| 9
| Anxiety disorders (such as obsessive compulsive disorder, generalized, panic or separation anxiety) (n=1,316)
| %
| 24
| 37
| 32
| 7
| Depression (n=1,482)
| %
| 25
| 36
| 31
| 8
| Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (also known as ADHD) (n=1,329)
| %
| 19
| 54
| 22
| 5
|
TABLE 3
APPROPRIATE USE OF DRUG TREATMENT
"Based
on what you know or have heard, do you believe that prescription drugs
used to treat these conditions are prescribed too often, not often
enough or as often as they should be?"
Base: All Adults
|
| Too Often
| Not Often Enough
| About Right
| Don’t Know
| Attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (also known as ADHD)
| %
| 63
| 8
| 11
| 18
| Depression
| %
| 47
| 17
| 18
| 17
| Anxiety disorders (such as obsessive compulsive disorder, generalized, panic or separation anxiety)
| %
| 43
| 14
| 20
| 23
| Learning disabilities
| %
| 35
| 12
| 17
| 35
| Eating disorders (such as bulimia or anorexia)
| %
| 22
| 21
| 17
| 40
| Autism
| %
| 17
| 10
| 21
| 52
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Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.
Methodology This
poll was conducted online in the United States between April 26 and 28,
2005 among a nationwide cross section of 2,102 adults aged 18 and over.
Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income and region were
weighted where necessary to align with population proportions.
Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’
propensity to be online.
In theory, with probability
samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the
results have a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points of
what they would be if the entire U.S. adult population had been polled
with complete accuracy. Sampling error for sub-sample result of adults
who think the following conditions are more common today than 10 years
ago: depression (1,548), attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder
(1,373), anxiety disorders (1,384), eating disorders (1,315), learning
disabilities (984) and autism (772) is higher and varies.
Unfortunately, there are several other possible sources of error in
polls or surveys that are probably more serious than theoretical
calculations of sampling error. This includes refusals to be
interviewed (nonresponse), question wording and question order, and
weighting. It is impossible to quantify the errors that may result from
these factors. This online sample was not a probability sample.
About the Survey The
Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive Health-Care Poll is an
exclusive poll that is published in the award-winning Health Industry
Edition of The Wall Street Journal Online at www.wsj.com/health.
About The Wall Street Journal Online The
Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, published by Dow Jones &
Company (NYSE: DJ; www.dowjones.com), offers authoritative analysis,
breaking news and commentary from top industry journalists. Launched in
1996, the Online Journal is the largest paid subscription news site on
the Web, with more than 689,000 subscribers world-wide. The Online
Journal provides in-depth business news and financial information 24
hours a day, seven days a week, with insight and analysis, including
breaking business and technology news and analysis from around the
world. It draws on the Dow Jones network of more than 1,500 reporters
and editors -- the largest staff of business and financial journalists
in the world. For the second consecutive year in 2003, the Online
Journal received a WebAward for the "Best Newspaper Web Site" and was
also cited by Yahoo! Internet Life magazine as the "Best Business News"
site (2002 & 2001).
About Dow Jones & Company In
addition to The Wall Street Journal and its international and online
editions, Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ; dowjones.com) also
publishes Barron's and the Far Eastern Economic Review, Dow Jones
Newswires, Dow Jones Indexes and the Ottaway group of community
newspapers. Dow Jones is co-owner with Reuters Group of Factiva, with
Hearst of SmartMoney and with NBC of the CNBC television operations in
Asia and Europe. Dow Jones also provides news content to CNBC and radio
stations in the U.S.
About Harris Interactive?
Harris
Interactive Inc. (www.harrisinteractive.com), the 15th largest and
fastest-growing market research firm in the world, is a Rochester,
N.Y.-based global research company that blends premier strategic
consulting with innovative and efficient methods of investigation,
analysis and application. Known for The Harris Poll? and for
pioneering Internet-based research methods, Harris Interactive conducts
proprietary and public research to help its clients achieve clear,
material and enduring results.
Harris Interactive
combines its intellectual capital, databases and technology to advance
market leadership through U.S. offices and wholly owned subsidiaries:
London-based HI Europe ( www.hieurope.com), Paris-based Novatris ( www.novatris.com),
Tokyo-based Harris Interactive Japan, through newly acquired
WirthlinWorldwide, a Reston, Virginia-based research and consultancy
firm ranked 25 th largest in the world, and through an independent global network of affiliate market research companies.
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