{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-blumenthal-klobuchar-colleagues-encourage-national-institute-of-mental-health-to-prioritize-study-of-mental-health-of-children-and-young-adults-during-pandemic", "Murphy, Blumenthal, Klobuchar, Colleagues Encourage National Institute Of Mental Health To Prioritize Study Of Mental Health Of Children And Young Adults During PandemicRead More", "2020-12-03", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "House", "CT", "Christopher Murphy", "M001169", "www.murphy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTONThis\r\nweek, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal\r\n(D-Conn.) and 12 of their Senate colleagues joined U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar\r\n(D-Minn.) urging the\r\nNational Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to prioritize efforts to study and\r\nunderstand the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of children and\r\nyoung adults. Recent reports have highlighted a substantial increase in anxiety and\r\ndepression among children and young adults since the beginning of the pandemicwith\r\none study finding that nearly one-third of high school students\r\nsurveyed reported feeling unhappy or depressed in recent months. Earlier this\r\nmonth, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released data showing that the proportion of children's emergency room\r\nvisits related to mental health had increased significantly during the\r\npandemic. In the letter to NIMH, the Senators called on Director Joshua Gordon to provide information on current\r\nsteps the agency is taking to study this issue as well as encourage\r\nprioritization of these efforts to better understand both the short-term and\r\nlong-term consequences of the pandemic on mental health in children and young\r\nadults. The letter also asks if the agency has any specific initiatives\r\nunderway to study whether there is a connection between the increased reliance\r\non and use of social media platforms and mental health among teenagers and\r\nyoung adults. No one is immune to the\r\nstress that has accompanied the pandemic, and many aspects of this public\r\nhealth crisis have been demonstrated to adversely affect the mental health of\r\nchildren and young adults. Over 13 million people have had coronavirus in our\r\ncountry, and studies have shown that children are more likely to report mental\r\nhealth issues if they personally know someone infected with the coronavirus. A\r\nrecord rate of 22 percent of children had an unemployed parent in the early\r\nmonths of the pandemic, and research shows that children are more likely to\r\nreport mental health problems when a parent or guardian loses a job, the senators wrote. In addition to Murphy, Blumenthal, and Klobuchar,\r\nthe letter is signed by U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Maggie Hassan\r\n(D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.),\r\nSherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Tim Kaine\r\n(D-Va.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Debbie\r\nStabenow (D-Mich.). The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)\r\nsupports this letter. Full text of the letter can be found HERE and below. Dear Director\r\nGordon: We write to request\r\ninformation about the efforts the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is\r\ntaking to study the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the mental health of\r\nchildren and young adults and to encourage NIMH to prioritize these efforts to\r\nimprove the ability of policymakers to respond to this pressing matter. Recent reports have\r\nhighlighted the increased prevalence of anxiety and depression among children\r\nand young adults as the current public health crisis persists. While this\r\npandemic has taken a toll on the mental health of many Americans, the impact\r\nhas been especially severe on teenagers, who rely on friendships and\r\nconnections while handling the pressure of high school. One recent study found\r\nthat nearly one-third of surveyed high school students reported feeling unhappy\r\nor depressed in recent months, and more than a quarter of those students felt\r\ndisconnected from teachers, classmates, or their school community. Earlier this month, the\r\nCDC released data showing that the proportion of children's emergency room\r\nvisits related to mental health had increased significantly during the pandemic\r\n increasing 31 percent for children between ages 12 and 17 from March to October\r\ncompared to the same period in 2019. There was also a 24 percent increase in\r\nemergency room visits for children between ages 5 and 11. These troubling\r\nfindings only further highlight concerns about the psychological effects that\r\nthis pandemic is having on young people, and in particular on adolescents who\r\nare members of historically disadvantaged populations. No one is immune to the\r\nstress that has accompanied the pandemic, and many aspects of this public\r\nhealth crisis have been demonstrated to adversely affect the mental health of\r\nchildren and young adults. Over 13 million people have had coronavirus in our\r\ncountry, and studies have shown that children are more likely to report mental\r\nhealth issues if they personally know someone infected with the coronavirus. A\r\nrecord rate of 22 percent of children had an unemployed parent in the early\r\nmonths of the pandemic, and research shows that children are more likely to\r\nreport mental health problems when a parent or guardian loses a job. As the lead federal agency\r\nfor research on mental disorders, we respectfully request that you respond to\r\nthe following questions: 1.\r\nWhat initiatives at NIMH are underway to research the mental\r\nhealth impact of this pandemic on children and young adults, including both the\r\nshort-term and long-term consequences? a.\r\nWhat steps is NIMH taking to ensure your studies cover a range of\r\ncommunities and populations to account for the different backgrounds and\r\ncircumstances of children experiencing symptoms of mental health\r\ndisorders? b.\r\nWhat systems are in place to ensure that these findings are shared\r\nwith relevant agencies, Congress, and the public to help inform the decisions\r\nof policymakers? 2.\r\nAs social media and online platforms emerge as critical\r\ncommunication tools during this pandemic, do you have any specific initiatives\r\nunderway to study the connection between the increased dependence on social\r\nmedia and mental health for children and teenagers? If so, please\r\nexplain. 3.\r\nCould additional resources be used to facilitate or improve or\r\naccelerate the body of research on the intersection of the pandemic and\r\nchildren's mental health? If so, please describe. We look forward to hearing\r\nabout your research initiatives to protect and improve the health of the\r\nAmerican people, including the mental health needs of the youngest members of\r\nour society. Sincerely, ###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-blumenthal-klobuchar-colleagues-encourage-national-institute-of-mental-health-to-prioritize-study-of-mental-health-of-children-and-young-adults-during-pandemic"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4516771771013737, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}