Depression among children U.S. 2013-2019

Between 2018 and 2019, over 15 percent of children and adolescents aged 3 to 17 years in the United States reported they had a major depressive episode during the past year. This statistic illustrates the percentage of children and adolescents in the U.S. who had or have ever had depression from 2013 to 2019.

Percentage of children and adolescents in the U.S. who had or have ever had depression from 2013 to 2019

Characteristic	Percentage of respondents
Ever had depression (parent report)*	4.4%
Current depression (parent report)*	3.4%
Ever had major depressive episode (self-report)**	20.9%
Past year major depressive episode (self-report)**	15.1%
Current depression (self-report)***	5.8%
Past year persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness (self-report)****	36.7%

Loading statistic...

Download

Source

Show detailed source information?

Already a member?

Sources

Use Ask Statista Research Service

Release date

February 2022

More information

Region

United States

Survey time period

2013-2019

Number of respondents

164,602 respondents

Age group

3-17 years

Special properties

age-adjusted

Supplementary notes

Count represents sum of all responses to the National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) (114,476 respondents, 3 to 17 years), National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) (33,678 respondents, 12 to 17 years), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) (2,771 respondents, 12 to 17 years), and National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) (13,677 respondents, 14 to 18 years).
* Values represent period from 2016 to 2019.
** Values represent period from 2018 to 2019.
*** Values represent period from 2013 to 2018. During past 2 weeks.
**** Values represent the year 2019. During the past 12 months before the survey, felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for 2 or more weeks in a row that they stopped doing some usual activities.

Citation formats