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RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — A national study led by RTI International, an independent scientific research institute, found that 61% of U.S. adults with a past-year psychiatric disorder received mental health treatment, but only 34% received treatment considered minimally adequate.
The findings of the Mental and Substance Use Disorders Prevalence Study (MDPS), published in Psychiatric Services, suggest more adults are receiving mental health care than in prior national surveys. However, many still may not receive enough care to meet minimum treatment standards that are based on past studies and treatment guidelines.
“More people than ever appear to be getting connected to mental health care,” said Leyla Stambaugh, Ph.D., a developmental psychologist at RTI and co-author of the study. “But our findings also show that access is only part of the story. We need to better understand whether people are receiving care that is sufficient and likely to help.”
The study analyzed data from clinical interviews with 4,764 adults ages 18 to 65. Participants were selected from a multistage clustered household sample of the U.S. population, and data were collected from 2020 to 2022.
Researchers found that 24.9% of people in the study had a past-year psychiatric disorder. The most common disorders identified in the study were major depressive disorder, at 15.4%, and generalized anxiety disorder, at 10.0%.
Among adults with major depressive disorder, 59.5% received any treatment and 37.0% received minimally adequate treatment. Among adults with generalized anxiety disorder, 65.9% received any treatment and 39.6% received minimally adequate treatment.
The study also identified differences in treatment receipt by demographic characteristics. The authors reported that men, non-Hispanic Black adults and Hispanic adults were less likely than their comparison groups to receive treatment. The authors also reported that those groups were less likely to receive minimally adequate treatment.
RTI researchers and collaborators used structured clinical interviews administered by trained clinicians to assess psychiatric disorders and asked participants about inpatient treatment, outpatient visits and psychiatric medications in the past year.
The study was funded by a cooperative agreement between RTI International and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
RTI International is an independent scientific research institute dedicated to improving the human condition. Our vision is to address the world's most critical problems with technical and science-based solutions in pursuit of a better future. Clients rely on us to answer questions that demand an objective and multidisciplinary approach—one that integrates expertise across social, statistical, data, and laboratory sciences, engineering, and other technical disciplines to solve the world’s most challenging problems.
For more information, visit www.rti.org.
