Report highlights disparities in behavioral health, treatment

Adults who are poor or lack health insurance are more likely to report serious mental illness and thoughts of suicide than other adults, according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration showing population-based variations in behavioral health. Uninsured adults also are less likely to receive treatment for serious mental illness than adults with health insurance, based on the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. White adolescents are more likely to smoke cigarettes and binge on alcohol than those in other racial and ethnic groups, and female adolescents are three times more likely than males to report a major depressive episode in the past year, the report indicates. While illicit drug use declined among white and Hispanic adolescents in 2013, it was unchanged among African Americans. “These findings should heighten our awareness of these challenges and provide crucial insight as to how we must all work together to provide the highest quality behavioral health care services for all segments of our community,” said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela Hyde.