Promising Signs in Youth Mental Health

August 13, 2024

The U.S. saw some encouraging progress in the ongoing effort to improve teen mental health.

A new report from the CDC this month provides a detailed analysis of health behaviors and experiences for high school students from 2021 and 2023. The report offers some encouraging signs of progress and identified other opportunities to address disparities in mental health.

"One of our main priorities at CDC is improving Americans' mental health," said Debra Houry, the CDC's chief medical officer and deputy director for program and science. "The data released today show improvements to a number of metrics that measure young people's mental well-being—progress we can build on.

Among the key takeaways:

• More hopeful:  The number of students who reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness declined from 42 percent to 40 percent.
• Key progress:  The report notes a decrease in the percentage of female students who experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness (from 57% to 53%) and who seriously considered attempting suicide (30% to 27%).
  • There also were decreases in the percentage of Hispanic students who felt persistently sad or hopeless (from 46% to 42%), who experienced poor mental health (30% to 26%), or who seriously considered attempting suicide (22% to 18%).
  • There also were decreases in the percentage of Black students who attempted suicide (from 14% to 10%) and who were injured in a suicide attempt (4% to 2%)
• School violence:  There were increases in the percentage of students who were threatened or injured with a weapon at school (7% to 9%); the percentage of students who were bullied at school (15% to 19%); and who missed school because of safety concerns either at school or on the way to school (9% to 13%).
• Concerning disparities:  Nearly three in 10 LGBTQ+ students were bullied at school, and two in 10 attempted suicide, the report notes.
• Quotable: "These data show that we've made some progress in tackling these issues in recent years, which proves that they are not insurmountable. However, there's still much work ahead," said CDC Division of Adolescent and School Health Director Kathleen Ethier. "Considering the vital role schools play in promoting health and well-being, it is critical to address school-based violence and safety concerns."

During 2021, the U.S. surgeon general announced a public health advisory to address youth mental health. This was followed by a separate call for a warning label on social media channels to address concerns about the ways these platforms contribute to the youth mental health crisis.

The report is available to review online.