25 new behavioral health study findings to know

A series of recent studies highlights widening gaps in mental health access, shifting prescription patterns and mixed outcomes across behavioral healthcare in the U.S. The findings point to growing pressures on providers, uneven availability of services and emerging questions around the effectiveness of both traditional and newer treatment approaches. 

Here are 25 studies to know:

1. 38 percent of adolescents in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study reported lifetime substance use by age 16, with alcohol, cannabis and nicotine accounting for most use, according to a study in Drug and Alcohol Dependence Reports.
   
2. Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia increased average monthly naloxone, known as Narcan, co-prescribing for patients receiving outpatient opioid prescriptions from 3% to 84.1% through an enterprisewide quality improvement initiative. Researchers found EHR-based prompts combined with education for providers increased naloxone co-prescribing across the large pediatric health system.
   
3. Vizient projects behavioral health outpatient volumes to grow 22% over the next decade, more than seven times the 3% increase predicted by population trends alone.
   
4. Pediatric cannabis exposures jumped more than 6,000% among U.S. children younger than 6 between 2009 and 2024, according to a study published June 26 in the Journal of Addiction Medicine. 
   
5. A study found the supply of psychiatrists serving adults is projected to decrease 12.3%, from 37,260 full-time equivalent physicians in 2024 to 32,660 in 2037.
   
6. States with higher Medicaid reimbursement rates for psychiatrists had 24% lower overall healthcare costs and 19% lower psychiatric-specific costs among Medicaid patients with serious mental illness, according to a study published in The American Journal of Managed Care.
   
7. According to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, rural communities had about one-fourth the psychologist workforce rate of urban areas, making them the most underrepresented healthcare professions examined.
   
8. GLP-1 receptor agonist use was associated with a 75% reduction in the odds of any substance use disorder among adults with Type 2 diabetes or obesity compared with non-user participants, according to a study published in Frontiers on March 9. 
   
9. A study found nearly 1 in 5 adolescents and young adults reported using AI chatbots for mental health advice. Researchers estimated that 19.2% of U.S. adolescents and young adults ages 12-21 — about 8.2 million people nationwide — had used AI chatbots for mental health advice in 2025.
   
10. Outpatient visits for serious mental illness rose 3.42% after the first round of COVID-19-era eviction moratoriums expired and 3.13% after the second round, according to a study of nearly 9 million people published in JAMA Health Forum.
    
11. Fewer than 15% of Washington state Medicaid beneficiaries received condition-concordant primary care follow-up within 30 days of emergency department visits for mental health conditions, substance use disorders or alcohol use disorder.
    
12. Cannabis is the most commonly microdosed substance in the U.S. About 9.4% of U.S. adults, an estimated 24.1 million people, reported microdosing cannabis at least once in their lifetime. That compared with 5.3% for psilocybin, 4.8% for LSD and 2.2% for MDMA. 
    
13. A study found anxiety-related visits in pediatric primary care settings increased 300% between 2014 and 2023. The rate of pediatric primary care visits with any mental health diagnosis increased from 5.9 visits per 100 children in the first quarter of 2014 to 9.7 visits per 100 children in the first quarter of 2023. 
    
14. About 2.8% of U.S. residents ages 12 and older — roughly 8 million people — reported past-year psilocybin use. The drug is a hallucinogenic compound found in so-called “magic mushrooms.” 
    
15. A study found mothers prescribed at least one sterol biosynthesis-inhibiting medication — including certain antidepressants, antipsychotics, anxiolytics, beta-blockers and statins — had a 1.47-fold higher risk of having a child diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. 
    
16. Researchers from Ann Arbor, Mich.-based University of Michigan School of Public Health and Medical School found long-term opioid therapy, defined as prescribed opioid use 90 days or longer, among U.S. patients declined from 5.6 million in 2015 to 4.2 million in 2023 — a 24.3% relative decrease. 
    
17. States that adopted Medicaid expansion between 2019 and 2023 saw a 21.1% relative increase in buprenorphine treatment rates — or 28.67 per 100,000 residents — to treat opioid disorder, according to a cross-sectional study published in JAMA Network Open. 
    
18. A study found two-thirds of mental health and substance use disorder treatment facilities, also known as “mixed” facilities, accepted older patients through Medicare, compared to 44% of SUD treatment-only facilities, creating access challenges for those who rely on the program.
    
19. Between 2013 and 2023, a study found prescriptions written by psychiatrists and primary care physicians declined annually by 3.2% and 2.6%, respectively, while prescribing by advanced practice nurses and physician assistants increased by 11.8% each year. 
    
20. Triage scores for children presenting with mental or behavioral health concerns were inaccurate in two-thirds of cases, according to a recent study published in JAMA Network Open. Over-triage was found to occur in more than half (57%) of visits, while under-triage occurred in approximately one in 12 visits (8%). The most common diagnoses included depressive disorders (25% of visits), suicide or self-injury (23%) and aggressive behavior (24%).
    
21. Psychedelic-assisted therapy was found to be no more effective than traditional antidepressants for treating major depression. Researchers discovered no statistically significant difference in patient improvement between the two approaches, with an estimated difference of 0.3 on the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. 
    
22. Researchers at Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University found among patients age 17 and younger, cannabis use disorder was associated with a 52% higher risk of subsequent schizophrenia, a 30% higher risk of recurrent major depression and a 21% higher risk of anxiety disorders, compared to patients with other substance use disorders. 
    
23. A study found GLP-1 receptor agonists to be associated with reduced risk of alcohol, cannabis, cocaine, nicotine and opioid use disorders, as well as other substance use disorders, suggesting potential prevention effects across a broad range of substances. Among patients with preexisting substance use disorder, GLP-1 receptor agonists were associated with lower risk of emergency department visits, hospitalization admission and mortality. 
    
24. Nearly half of the U.S. states were found to meet 25% or less of their estimated mental health workforce needs, according to a March report from Inseparable. At least 14 states reported “catastrophic shortages” in their psychiatric hospitals, 17 reported such shortages in community mental health providers, and 13 in behavioral health crisis systems. Arkansas, Delaware, Iowa and Nebraska reported catastrophic shortages across all three. 
    
25. A survey found 84% of primary care providers said they must play an essential role in meeting rising demand for mental and behavioral health treatment in the U.S. Eighty percent of respondents said rising demand for mental and behavioral healthcare contributes to their own feelings of burnout and stress. The survey cited time constraints and the lack of treatment facilities in their communities as key factors. 

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