This week’s roundup covers new research on how tweens and teens use AI chatbots, an Icelandic study of school phone bans, new federal data on ADHD diagnoses, a youth psychiatric hospital opening in California, and a New York program that brings mental health care into primary care offices.
Surveys find most tweens and teens have used AI chatbots, and some uses are linked to poorer mental health
NPR, October 30, 2026
NPR reports on new surveys from Common Sense Media and the JED Foundation. Common Sense found that nearly half of 9 to 12 year olds have used an AI chatbot or companion, rising to nearly three quarters by age 13, while JED’s survey of 5,500 students ages 9 to 17 found that many use chatbots for schoolwork and also for companionship or when stressed or lonely. Students who turned to AI while in distress were more likely to report poor mental health and a history of suicidal thoughts, but experts quoted in the story stress that these findings are correlational and early, and do not show that chatbot use causes mental health problems. For parents, the reporting gives a sense of how common chatbot use has become among children, including for emotional support.
Iceland study finds school phone bans alone were not linked to better teen mental health
JAMA Network Open, October 27, 2026
Researchers led by Reykjavik University analyzed nearly 24,000 survey responses from students ages 13 to 15 at 70 Icelandic schools, 22 of which adopted schoolwide phone bans between 2018 and 2023. Compared with schools without bans, schools with bans showed no meaningful changes in students’ depression, anxiety, hostility, or well-being, and no consistent changes in bullying, peer support, or screen time. The study compares school level trends rather than following individual students, and it did not measure outcomes such as attention or grades, so it leaves some questions about phone policies open. The authors conclude that bans on their own may not be enough to improve teen mental health across a whole population.
Share of U.S. children ever diagnosed with ADHD rose to nearly 14 percent in 2025
CDC, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, October 29, 2026
A brief CDC data report based on the National Health Interview Survey found that the share of children and teens ages 5 to 17 who had ever received an ADHD diagnosis rose from 9.9 percent in 2019 to 13.8 percent in 2025. The increase appeared among both boys and girls, and boys remained more likely to have been diagnosed. The report does not look at why diagnoses rose, so the data cannot say whether more children have ADHD or whether it is being recognized and diagnosed more often.
Santa Clara County opens a public psychiatric hospital with 35 beds for children and teens
KQED, October 27, 2026
Santa Clara Valley Healthcare, the county’s public hospital system in San José, California, is opening a $470 million Behavioral Health Pavilion that is scheduled to begin accepting patients on November 3. The facility has 77 inpatient beds, 35 of them for children and adolescents, along with emergency psychiatric assessment and outpatient services, and it will serve patients regardless of insurance or income. In 2025, about 65 percent of county children who needed acute psychiatric care were sent to facilities outside the county. For local families, the opening could mean a child in crisis can be treated closer to home.
New York funds mental health care in eight primary care practices for patients 6 and older
Office of the Governor of New York, October 27, 2026
New York announced $10 million in federal funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, spread over five years, to add behavioral health services at eight federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics. The program expands the Collaborative Care model, which adds a psychiatric consultant and a behavioral health care manager to primary care teams, and is expected to serve about 1,750 people ages 6 and older who have chronic physical health conditions along with mental health or substance use challenges. The model is designed to bring mental health support into the same offices where patients already receive medical care.
This roundup summarizes news reported by other outlets and is for general information only. It is not medical or mental health advice.
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the US.
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