Mental health in America
Image: Lehigh Center for Clinical Research
90% of US school administrators believe the country is in the midst of a growing youth mental health crisis, with more than half saying the problem is the same or worse than it was a year ago, per a new nationwide survey published by mental health service provider Effective School Solutions on Wednesday.
The survey, which polled 200 school administrators and 1,000 parents with kids in grades K-12, also found that ~60% of parents say there’s a growing youth mental health crisis in the US, with similar numbers seen across the rural/suburban/urban divide.
- The ESS isn’t the only scientific org that’s made a similar mental health crisis claim either. In separate research, the CDC discovered more than 44% of US high school students said they were so persistently sad or hopeless at some point last year that they couldn’t engage in regular activities for at least a two-week period.
🇺🇸 Zoom out: About half of all Americans have experienced a severe mental health crisis in their own family, per an October survey from CNN and the Kaiser Family Foundation. And as of 2020, nearly one in five US adults were living with a mental illness.
📊 Flash poll (long-form): What would you recommend doing to improve the mental health of the US as a whole? The best answers will be featured in Monday’s newsletter.
See a 360° view of what the media is saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that the policies and programs that could undo America’s mental health crisis have existed for decades – namely, a JFK-era proposal to establish a national network of community mental health centers.
- Others contend that each individual mental health crisis likely represents a missed opportunity for early, effective intervention, and advocate for more resources to put those interventions into place.
- “The Solution to America’s Mental Health Crisis Already Exists” –NY Times Editorial Board
- “America’s mental health crisis isn’t new, but we need a better way to reach people” –David G. Stewart, The San Diego Union-Tribune
- “The mental health crisis afflicting American youth demands health care reforms” –The Boston Globe Editorial Board
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that mental health in America, especially among youth, is an urgent crisis that needs to be addressed ASAP by fundamentally redefining what it means for young people to be successful.
- Others contend that high rates of US mental illness are inevitable, since the more a society is dedicated to the value of equality, and the more choices it offers for individual self-determination, the higher its rates of functional mental illness.
- “Feeling nervous, restless or depressed. Imagine feeling that way as a kid” –Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board
- “The West’s Struggle for Mental Health” –Liah Greenfeld, WSJ
- “A season of gratitude could bring together a nation” –Jay Evensen, Deseret
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