World Mental Health Survey, United States, 2001-2003 (ICPSR 39556)
Version Date: Apr 21, 2026 View help for published
Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s)
Ronald C. Kessler, Harvard University. Harvard Medical School. Department of Health Care Policy;
Kathleen Ries Merikangas, United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute of Mental Health;
James Anthony, Michigan State University;
William Eaton, Johns Hopkins University;
Meyer D. Glantz, United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health;
Doreen Koretz, Harvard University;
Jane D. McLeod, Indiana University;
Mark Olfson, Columbia University. College of Physicians and Surgeons;
Harold Alan Pincus, University of Pittsburgh;
Gregory E. Simon, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound;
Michael Von Korff, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound;
Philip S. Wang, Harvard University. Harvard Medical School. Department of Health Care Policy;
Kenneth B. Wells, University of California-Los Angeles;
Elaine Wethington, Cornell University;
Hans-Ulrich Wittchen, Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy; Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry
Series:
https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR39556.v1
Version V1
Summary View help for Summary
The World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative was a coordinated series of general population surveys of mental, substance use, and behavioral disorders conducted in countries across all World Health Organization (WHO) regions. The approach taken by WMH was to conduct rigorous general population surveys in nationally representative samples in many countries throughout the world, to generate data from these surveys on the prevalence, severity, course, and treatment of mental disorders. Data were collected using the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) which uses both ICD-10 and DSM-III diagnostic criteria. This survey was conducted in the United States and utilized the English version of the CIDI.
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Funding View help for Funding
Subject Terms View help for Subject Terms
Geographic Coverage View help for Geographic Coverage
Restrictions View help for Restrictions
This data collection may not be used for any purpose other than statistical reporting and analysis. Use of these data to learn the identity of any person or establishment is prohibited. To protect respondent privacy, the data file in this collection is restricted from general dissemination. To obtain this restricted file, researchers must agree to the terms and conditions of a Restricted Data Use Agreement.
Distributor(s) View help for Distributor(s)
Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)
Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes
- For additional information on The World Mental Health (WMH) Survey Initiative, please visit The World Mental Health Survey Initiative website.
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Supporting documentation to distinguish Part I and II of the survey was not included. Users can utilize crosstabs on the weight variables FINALP1WT and FINALP2WT to determine whether variables in Datasets 1 and 2 were derived from Part I or II of the survey:
- If a participant without valid values for FINALP2WT responded to a variable, that variable is in Part I of the survey.
- Variables that only have responses from participants with FINALP2WT valid values are in Part II of the survey.
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The Restricted-Use Raw United States Data were provided without complete variable and value labels, but with a P.I. Questionnaire. This Raw dataset and the corresponding documents are released to provide supplemental information. The Raw dataset is released as Restricted-Use because it contains the original, more granular variables that were used to create the constructed variables in the Public-Use Cleaned United States Data and the Restricted-Use Cleaned United States Data.
Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose
The WMH Survey Initiative was designed to fill major gaps in global mental health data. Earlier estimates of the burden of mental and addictive disorders relied largely on literature reviews and isolated studies. WMH surveys provide nationally or regionally representative data to:
- Estimate the prevalence and distribution of mental, substance use, and behavioral disorders
- Identify risk and protective factors to inform prevention and intervention strategies
- Describe patterns of service use, unmet need, and barriers to care
- Improve estimates of the global burden of disease attributable to mental disorders for public health planning
Study Design View help for Study Design
The survey was administered in two parts. Part I was administered to all respondents. Part II was administered to a probability sub-sample of respondents based on responses to the Part I questions. In addition, a probability subsample of other Part I respondents (i.e., those who did not meet criteria for any core disorder) was also selected to complete Part II, while interviews with the remaining non-cases were ended after the completion of the Part I questions.
Sample View help for Sample
4 design stages: (1) Stratification by census region, urban/rural status, and population demography (units: counties, Metropolitan Statistical Areas); (2) Area segment; (3) Household; (4) Random adult, with no more than 2 interviews conducted per housing unit (HU), and the selection of a second respondent limited to 25 percent of HUs.
Time Method View help for Time Method
Universe View help for Universe
English speaking adults aged 18 or older in the 48 coterminous United States who have a permanent household address.
Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation
Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)
Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection
Response Rates View help for Response Rates
The overall response rate for this survey was 70.90 percent.
Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales
Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI) Version 3.0
HideOriginal Release Date View help for Original Release Date
2026-04-21
Version History View help for Version History
2026-04-21 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:
- Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
Weight View help for Weight
The final analysis weight (FINALP1WT) for each respondent was computed as the product of three weight components: the selection weight factor for the respondent, the nonresponse weight adjustment factor for the respondent, and the post-stratification factor for the respondent. The final analysis weight (FINALP2WT) for each respondent administered Part II was computed similarly to FINALP1WT for that subsample of respondents. As a practical matter for analysts, the following decision rules should be applied when selecting the weight to use. When using only variables from Part I, the FINALP1WT weight variable should be used. For analyses with only Part II or a combination of Part I and Part II variables, the Part II weight or FINALP2WT should be used.
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These data are freely available to data users at ICPSR member institutions. The curation and dissemination of this study are provided by the institutional members of ICPSR. How do I access ICPSR data if I am not at a member institution?
One or more files in this data collection have special restrictions. Restricted data files are not available for direct download from the website; click on the Restricted Data button to learn more.