Treatment of mental disorders among U.S. adults

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Concerns persist about unmet needs for mental health treatment in the United States. The Mental and Substance Use Disorders Prevalence Study (MDPS) was designed to estimate the proportion of U.S. adults with psychiatric disorders who received any past-year treatment and the proportion who received minimally adequate treatment.

METHODS: Clinical interviews were conducted with 4,764 adults ages 18-65 selected from a multistage clustered household sample of the U.S. population in 2020-2022. Trained clinicians used the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 to generate diagnoses of 12-month disorders based on DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. Respondents were asked about inpatient and outpatient visits and use of psychiatric medications. Minimally adequate treatment definitions were based on past studies and treatment guidelines. Data were weighted to account for the complex sampling design.

RESULTS: Of the 24.9% of individuals with a past-year psychiatric disorder, 60.7% received treatment in the past year, and 34.0% of those with a psychiatric disorder received minimally adequate treatment. Rates of treatment and minimally adequate care varied across disorders. Higher Global Assessment of Functioning scores, indicating better functioning, were associated with lower rates of treatment. Sex at birth, age, race-ethnicity, and employment status were associated with receipt of treatment for a psychiatric disorder.

CONCLUSIONS: Compared with prior surveys, the results suggest a modest increase in the rate of U.S. adults receiving treatment for psychiatric disorders. However, rates of minimally adequate treatment remained low; about one-third of individuals with a psychiatric disorder received minimally adequate treatment in the past year. Disparities in treatment rates persist.