ADD/ADHD: The New York Times recently published an article on the increase in the prevalence of ADHD among US children. ADHD estimates are available for children age 2-17 years on the DRC website. These data can be stratified by Age, CSHCN status, and other demographics. They can also be compared across States, where parent-reported prevalence ranges from 3.8% to 13.1%. If you have questions about differences between these estimates and those posted by the New York Times, please contact us.
GOOD NEWS! Developmental Screening: Nationally, the percentage of US children (age 10 months to 5 years) screened for being at risk for developmental, behavioral or social delays increased from 19.5% in 2007 to 30.8 % in 2011/12. While all but one state saw improvements in developmental screening rates, variation across states continues to persist in 2011/12 from a low of 17.5% to a high of 58.0%.
Nearly a third of US youth age 12-17 have experienced two or more adverse childhood events (30.5%), with a range of 23.0% to 44.4% across states.
9 ACEs Components Assessed:
- An estimated 7% of children live in families where it is very often hard to get by on their family's income.
- CSHCN are more likely to experience living with a parent or guardian who got divorced or separated.
- An estimated 3.1% of children have lived with a parent who died, ranging from 1.4% to 7.1% across US States.
- An estimated 6.9% of children have lived with a parent or guardian who served time in jail or prison.
- CSHCN are twice as likely as non-CSHCN to have seen or heard adults slap, hit, kick, punch, or beat each other up in the home (12.6% compared to 6.0%). Parents of CSHCN also report a greater prevalence of stress (22.6% usually or always feel stress) compared to parents of non-CSHCN (8.6%).
- An estimated 14.5% of children living in poverty have been victims of or witnesses to neighborhood violence.
- The percent of children who have ever lived with anyone who was mentally ill or suicidal ranges from 5.4% to 14.1% across US states.
- An estimated 10.7% of children have lived with someone with an alcohol/drug problem.
- The percent of parents who indicated that their child was ever treated or judged unfairly because of his/her race or ethnic group ranges from 1.4% to 9.9% depending on the child's race/ethnicity.
Other Highlights
Physical and Dental Health
Childhood Obesity: An estimated 31.3% of US children age 10-17 were reported as overweight or obese, ranging from 22.1% to 39.8% across US states. Generally, the prevalence of overweight or obese children increase among lower income families. However, some states with low rates of overweight/obese youth actually experience large disparities among income groups.
NEW TOPIC! Premature Birth: Nearly 12% of US children have parents who report they were born premature, ranging from 8.5% to 15.7% across US states.
Breast Feeding: Over 1 in 5 children age 0-5 years were never breastfed or fed breast milk, which increases to 35.3% among Black, non-Hispanic children.
Emotional and Mental Health
NEW TOPIC! Resilience and Engagement in Life: An estimated 47.7% of child and adolescents, age 6-17 years meet all three indicators (1) curiosity in learning new things, (2) calm and in control when faced with a challenge, (3) finishes tasks and follows through with plans. Estimates range from 36% to 54.3% across US states.
Developmental Status: Roughly 2 in 5 parents of children age 4 months to 5 years have one or more concerns about their child's physical, behavioral or social development.
Health Insurance and Health Care Access
Type of Insurance: An estimated 5.6% of children are currently uninsured, ranging from 1% to 13.5% across US states.
Adequacy of Insurance: Nearly 1 in 3 children with special health care needs have insurance that does not adequately meet their needs.
NEW TOPIC: Home Visitation: An estimated 13.6% of children have participated in the Home Visitation Program, ranging from 3.7% to 30.6% across states.
Medical Home Sub-Components:
- Nearly 10% of children do not have a personal doctor or nurse, ranging from 2.7% to 19% across US states.
- An estimated 8.6% of children do not have a usual source of sick care, ranging from 2.9% to 16.4% across US states.
- 2 in 3 children received family-centered care in the last 12 months. An estimated 50% of Hispanic children received family-centered care compared to 77.7% of White, non-Hispanic children.
- Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) are over 3 times more likely to have problems getting needed referrals when compared to children without special health care needs. Problems getting referrals when needed for CSHCN ranges from 2.9% to 15.5% across US states.
- An estimated 33.1% of CSHCN did not receive all care coordination needed compared to 9.6% of non-CSHCN.
Community and School Activities
School Engagement: An estimated 52.2% of children age 6-17 years are always engaged in school, ranging from 39.4% to 58.5% across US states. Nationally, the percentage of children engaged in school decreases as children get older (58.7% for 6-11 years old and 46% for 12-17 years old). This trend persists at the state level as well.
Repeated Grades: An estimated 9.1% of children age 6-17 have repeated one or more grades, ranging from 2.9% to 23.0% across US states.
Family Health and Activities
Smoking In the Home: Nearly 1 in 4 US children live in households where someone smokes (24.1%), ranging from 12.4% to 41.0% across US states.
NEW TOPIC: Time with Electronics: An estimated 11.2% of children age 6-17 year and 1.9% of children age 1-5 years usual spend 4 or more hours per day with computers, cell phones, video games, and other electronic devices.
Neighborhood Safety and Support
Safe Communities: Children living below the federal poverty level are over 5 times more likely to live in an unsafe community when compared to more affluent children.
Neighborhood Amenities: An estimated 54.1% of children in the US live in neighborhoods that have all 4 of the amenities asked about--parks, recreation centers, sidewalks and libraries.
