Alarming spike of military children hospitalized for mental health reasons

More military children seeking mental care

By Kimberly Hefling - The Associated Press
Posted : Tuesday Jul 7, 2009 19:35:31 EDT

WASHINGTON — Two million children with parents in the military sought outpatient mental health care last year, twice the number from the start of the Iraq war, internal Pentagon documents show.

The documents, obtained by The Associated Press, also reveal an alarming spike in the number of military children hospitalized for mental health reasons.

From 2007 to 2008, 20 percent more children of active duty troops used inpatient mental health services, many of them under age 14, the documents show. Since the 2003 invasion of Iraq, inpatient visits among military children have increased 50 percent.

The total number of outpatient mental health visits for children of those on active duty doubled from 1 million in 2003 to 2 million in 2008. During the same period, the total yearly bed days for children of active duty personnel 14 and under increased from 35,000 in 2003 to 55,000 in 2008, the documents show.
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More military children seeking mental care