Study Tracks Texas Youth Being Treated for Depression or Suicidal Thoughts
Nearly half of Texas youth being treated for depression or suicidal thoughts reported at least one suicide attempt, and 90 percent had experienced thoughts of suicide, according to a study led by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers.
The findings, published in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, represent the data from a registry established in 2020 by the Texas Youth Depression and Suicide Research Network (TX-YDSRN).
The study offers baseline data on nearly 1,000 participants collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, when mental health issues spiked among school-age children and teens.
“Given that youth depression and suicide are increasing nationally and that Texas ranks very low on access to mental health care, these findings give us an idea of the scope of the challenge,” said Beth D. Kennard, Psy.D., professor of psychiatry and member of UT Southwestern’s Peter O’Donnell Jr. Brain Institute and Peter O’Donnell Jr. School of Public Health.
- Note: TX-YDSRN is a research initiative funded by the Legislature in 2019 as a part of the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium (TCMHCC) that was created to improve the evaluation of and response to the increase in youth depression and suicide.
UT Southwestern serves as the network’s coordinating hub and source of research oversight and training under the direction of Madhukar Trivedi, M.D.
