By Elaiza Torralba, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, January 27, 2021
Mirroring a national trend, 45% of California youth between the ages of 12 and 17 report having recently struggled with mental health issues, with nearly a third of them experiencing serious psychological distress that could interfere with their academic and social functioning, according to a UCLA policy brief released today.
The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research study also highlights the elevated incidence of mental health distress among certain segments of the adolescent population — including poor, multiracial, gender-nonconforming and foreign-born young people — and recommends policies to address these inequities and boost access to mental health services.
“With almost half of California’s adolescents experiencing moderate to serious psychological distress, there is an urgent need to protect their psychological and emotional well-being by addressing the structural and social factors related to inequities in mental health,” said D. Imelda Padilla-Frausto, the study’s co-lead author and a research scientist at the center.
[Please click here to read more and to access the policy brief.]
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