First large-scale field survey of mental health in the United States
The National Comorbidity Survey: Baseline (NCS-1) was the first large-scale field survey of mental health in the United States. Conducted from 1990โ1992, disorders were assessed based on the diagnostic criteria of the then-most current DSM manual, the DSM-III-R (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition, Revised).[1] The study has had large-scale implications on mental health research in the United States, as no widespread data on the prevalence of mental illness was previously available.
In conjunction with the NCS-2, two other surveys were done. The National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R) was a study done with 9,282 new participants.[3] And the National Comorbidity Survey: Adolescent Supplement (NCS-A) was a study done between 2000 and 2004 with 10,000 adolescents.[4]