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Key Findings

1. Depression significantly impairs teen functioning in school, among peers, and in family life, and effects may persist.
2. A majority of white teens reported readiness for treatment for depression; African-American and Hispanic teens reported readiness at lower rates.
3. Greater knowledge of depression therapies, especially among parents, influenced teens' likelihood of receiving care.
4. Parents and teens who sought treatment perceived barriers that may have stopped them from beginning or continuing care.

As many as 20 percent of American teenagers experience depression by the age of 18. Although effective treatments are available, most teens with depression have limited access to specialty mental health care. Most of those who receive care are treated in primary care, which makes these settings promising venues for efforts to improve access to care and outcomes for depressed teens. Yet the evidence base to support such efforts has significant gaps. Much of what we know about depression's effects and treatment comes from studying adults. Depression's effects on adolescent functioning and family burden are not well understood; there is also limited understanding of teens' and parents' attitudes and knowledge about depression, how these and other factors influence readiness for treatment, and the barriers to care that teens and their parents encounter.