What Can Trends in Emergency Department Visits Tell Us About Child Mental Health?

Increases in mental health diagnoses and suicidal behaviors in Emergency Departments are often cited as evidence of an accelerating child mental health crisis. We ask whether trends in ED visits provide an accurate picture of changes in U.S. child mental health. These measures have been profoundly affected by changing conventions about screening, defining, and coding of mental illness. We conclude that child mental health has been deteriorating, but not by the startling magnitudes suggested by jumps and trends in some measures. Although reported suicidal behaviors rose 233% from 2006-2021, the true rise in mental health disorders is less than 30-50%.