These findings provide the first lifetime prevalence data on a broad range of mental disorders in a nationally representative sample of U.S. adolescents. The prevalence rates reported here closely approximate those of our nationally representative sample of adults using nearly identical methods, suggesting that the majority of mental disorders in adults emerge prior to adulthood. These rates are somewhat higher than those of prior studies, but within the ranges of estimates summarized in a meta-analysis of international community surveys of mental disorders in youth.1 In addition, the NCS-A provides a more comprehensive assessment of a wide range of DSM-IV disorders and subtypes than most previous studies. Despite the high prevalence rates, however, only about one in every four-to-five youths meet criteria for a lifetime mental disorder that is associated with severe role impairment and/or distress. The prevalence of severe emotional and behavior disorders is even higher than the most frequent major physical conditions in adolescence, including asthma24 or diabetes25 which have received widespread public health attention.
