Estimating Mental Illness in the U.S.: SAMHSA's Methodology and the Impact of DSM-5

• Activity Number: 605
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 7, 2013 : 2:00 PM to 3:50 PM
• Sponsor: Mental Health Statistics Section
• Author(s): Joseph Gfroerer*+ and Sarra Hedden and Jonaki Bose
• Companies: SAMHSA and SAMHSA and Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality, SAMHSA
• Keywords: survey ; mental illness

Abstract

Based on SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health, it is estimated that 20 percent of the U.S. adult population had a diagnosable mental illness in 2011. This estimate is derived from responses to short scales asking about psychological distress and impairment, collected in 45,000 face to face ACASI interviews of adults age 18 and older. The data from these short scales are used in conjunction with clinical assessments administered over the telephone to a subsample of respondents to develop a prediction model that is used to determine mental illness status for each adult respondent. This presentation will discuss the estimation methodology for mental illness and SAMHSA's efforts to assess and improve it. Comparisons with methods and estimates from other studies will be included. Approaches for estimating mental illness among children and youth will be addressed, as well as the impact of revised definitions of mental disorders issued by the American Psychiatric Association in DSM-5.