The CDC just published its bi-annual survey about US teens’ health and well-being

If The Kids Are All Right was getting a modern-day reboot, it’d probably be titled “The kids are not alright.” According to new CDC research published yesterday, nearly three out of five high school girls in the US reported feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness in 2021, representing a 60% increase over the previous decade.

🗣📝 Background: The CDC has conducted a survey every other year since 1990, with the stated intention of measuring US high school students’ health and well-being. This most recent survey included responses from more than 17,000 US high school students – and here’s what it found.

• Sadness/hopelessness: The percentage of high-school girls who reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness rose from 36% in 2011 to 57% a decade later. That figure is nearly double the rate for high school boys, which grew from 21% to 29% over the same period.
• Suicidal thoughts: Three in ten high school girls said they seriously considered attempting suicide in 2021, up from 19% a decade prior. For boys that number increased by one percentage-point, to reach 14%.
• Sexual violence: Nearly one in five high school girls reported experiencing sexual violence within the past year. That represents a 20% increase since 2017, the first year the CDC started collecting such data.

👍 But it’s not all doom and gloom… Several measures of teens’ health and well-being have improved since 2011. That includes declines in the usage of alcohol (-41%), marijuana (-31%), and illegal drugs (-32%) – as well as reduced levels of bullying at school (-25%) and fewer instances of risky sexual behavior.

+Important: If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988, or the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.