Report finds children in East Tennessee facing highest mental health vulnerability

Mental health is a growing concern for children across the country and a new report shows Tennessee is no exception.Earlier this month the Tennessee State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE), NashvilleHealth, and the Belmont Data Collaborative joined together to release a report called “Connecting the Dots: Mental Health and Student Success in Tennessee” that explores the mental health challenges facing Tennessee youth.Mental health challenges often start early, with many traceable to a child’s formative years. According to the report, 16 percent of children between ages two and eight have a diagnosed mental, developmental, or behavior disorder. Additionally, half of all lifetime mental health conditions begin before age 14 and don’t resolve themselves as children grow and mature.To measure how these challenges are impacting different communities differently, researchers working on the report created a Mental Well-Being Index that measures mental health vulnerabilities based on 21 variables including household poverty, unemployment rates, and health insurance.The Mental Well-Being Index listed Hancock, Lake, and Haywood counties as the three most vulnerable in Tennessee while Memphis and Chattanooga held the most vulnerable zip codes.The highest cluster of mental health vulnerability in Tennessee is rural Appalachian counties in East Tennessee, and West Tennessee communities like Tiptonville and Shelby County.While Middle Tennessee shows a lower vulnerability overall on the Mental Well-Being Index, there are six rural counties with high vulnerability. A breakdown of the zip codes also shows that specific parts of Middle Tennessee counties, such as Rutherford County, have plenty of highly vulnerable areas in addition to those that are less vulnerable.“We hope this research motivates stakeholders to take action to help address the crisis around mental health and student success in Tennessee, and that it is a catalyst to continue conversations that lead to lasting change for our state and for our young people,” said Catherine Bass, director of the Belmont Data Collaborative.