Empowering Families to Improve Youth Mental Health

Parents frequently rate their children’s mental health as a top concern in national polls. Nearly three quarters of U.S. parents with children younger than 18 say they are worried their children might struggle with anxiety or depression at some point, with 40 percent saying they are extremely or very worried. Sixty-nine percent admit to being unsure what they should do if their children were to struggle with their mental health.

While schools saw an influx of federal and state dollars for more services to combat the youth mental health crisis, parents have often been overlooked as allies. According to a recent national survey by Harvard University’s Making Caring Common project, most parents feel confident they can identify their children’s feelings and views. But not all parents and teens feel comfortable confiding in each other about mental health issues, and consistent misalignment between parent and teen responses denotes a greater likelihood of both parents and teens self-reporting depression and anxiety. …