More Than Half of Children with Mental Health Symptoms Not Receiving Treatment

More than half of children and teens with mental health symptoms are not receiving treatment, according to a study of three U.S. national surveys.

The study found that more than half of children and teens with high levels of adverse childhood experiences, such as being exposed to violence, are not receiving mental health treatment, HealthDay reports.

Children and teens of color and those whose parents have lower levels of education are less likely to receive treatment, the researchers report in JAMA Network Open.

“These findings show a large percentage of children who need it are not getting treatment,” study author David Finkelhor said in a University of New Hampshire news release. “Better ways are needed to identify these at-risk youth populations and help them get intervention resources that we know improves their physical and mental health. Lots of kids are suffering from problems we have solutions for. We just have to up our game and get it to them.”