Experts Recommend Young Children Be Screened For Anxiety, Depression Amid Pandemic Mental Health Crisis

An expert panel on Tuesday released a recommendation that even young children should be screened for anxiety and depression as the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a mental health crisis amongst youth.

The U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) has recommended considering a rapidly growing mental health crisis among children of all ages amid the pandemic. A recommendation does not mean that children and teens need regular screenings, it just means that it could be helpful.

Specifically, the panel recommends that children between the ages of 8 and 18 receive regular screenings for anxiety.

The panel found that screenings in this age group "net benefit in improving outcomes such as treatment response and disease remission."

The panel also noted that a "2018–2019 National Survey of Children’s Health found that 7.8% of children and adolescents ages 3 to 17 years had a current anxiety disorder," and that "anxiety disorders in childhood and adolescence are associated with an increased likelihood of a future anxiety disorder or depression."

However, the panel notes regular screenings are not enough to combat the growing mental health crisis given there are a litany of reasons why mental health issues occur. Screenings may help catch some mental health crises, but do not provide blanket protection against current or future problems.

In a statement, clinical psychologist and USPSTF member Lori Pbert cautioned against presuming too much from a negative test and that it is critical to have more research.

While research has noted the profound effect the pandemic has had on mental health, particularly in children, the crisis has been in effect for quite some time. In 2019, reports showed that the rate of young adults who claimed to have suicidal thoughts or other suicide-related outcomes increased 47% from 2008 to 2017.

In the 2022 State of the Union address, President Joe Biden announced a strategy for the national mental health crisis.