US child mental health care need, unmet needs, and difficulty accessing services

JAMA Pediatrics

2026-02-16

(Press-News.org) About The Study: This nationally representative study showed that, in 1 in 5 U.S. households, parents perceived a mental health treatment need for their children. Among these parents, 24.8% reported an unmet need, 16.6% reported difficulty in accessing care, and 21.8% cited such difficulty as the reason their children did not receive care. This burden was even greater for households with a single parent and multiple children.

Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Alyssa L. Burnett, MPH, email alyssa_burnett@populationmedicine.org.

To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/

(doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.6162)

Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional information, including other authors, author contributions and affiliations, conflict of interest and financial disclosures, and funding and support.

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US child mental health care need, unmet needs, and difficulty accessing services

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