The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released its latest edition of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Data Summary and Trends Report, and the findings indicate an urgent need to address the growing mental health crisis among American teens.
The survey, conducted in fall 2021, is the first YRBS data collected since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluated high school students’ behaviors in several areas, including sexual behavior, substance use, experience of violence, mental health, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The latest report is also the first to include questions measuring social determinants of health, such as unstable housing.
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According to the survey, teens in general are reporting an increase in mental health challenges, violence, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, but teen girls are especially suffering. Nearly three in five teen girls said they felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, a record high and 60 percent increase from a decade ago. The report also found teens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or questioning (LGBQ+) to have higher rates of distress.
Additional report findings include:
- Nearly one in three (30 percent) teen girls seriously considered attempting suicide, a 60 percent increase from a decade ago.
- One in five (18 percent) teen girls experienced sexual violence in the past year, a 20 percent increase since 2017, when the CDC started including this measure in the report.
- More than one in 10 (14 percent) teen girls had ever been forced to have sex, a 27 percent increase since 2019, when the CDC started including this measure in the report.
- Nearly three in four (70 percent) of LGBQ+ teens experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year.
- More than one in five (22 percent) LGBQ+ teens attempted suicide in the past year.
The survey results stress the need for urgent action, according to the research team, calling on schools to do more to support and protect their students.
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“High school should be a time for trailblazing, not trauma. These data show our kids need far more support to cope, hope, and thrive,” said CDC Chief Medical Officer and Deputy Director for Program and Science Debra Houry, M.D., M.P.H., in a statement. “Proven school prevention programs can offer teens a vital lifeline in these growing waves of trauma.”
The YRBS report outlined several steps schools can take to help students:
- Foster school connectedness, particularly for students of color and those who identify as LGBQ+, through initiatives such as school clubs, mentor programs, and community outreach programs
- Increase access to health services at the school or in the community for mental health or substance use issues
- Provide more education on sexual health, consent, and mental health