Since the 2020 Pandemic, youth mental health has struggled. Social isolation, limited job opportunities, and virtual classes have increased the rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide risk for young adults and teenagers.
The CDC runs a every 10 years, which analyzes the trends in youth mental health over the past decade. As we thought, youth mental health suffered acutely during 2020, although it had been on a decline for a while.
This article covers this study and others like it to paint a picture of youth mental health in the United States and what can be done about it.
Youth Mental Health Over the Decade
The CDC found that all indicators of poor mental health and suicidal thoughts worsened over the past ten years. The metrics they used included:
Experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness
Experienced poor mental health
Seriously considered attempting suicide
Made a suicide plan
Attempted suicide
Were injured in a suicide attempt that had to be treated by a doctor
Their results were as followed:
In 2023, 4 out of every 10 students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, a primary symptom of depression
2 in 10 students seriously thought about committing suicide.
29% of high school students experienced poor mental health in 2023
There was a 10% increase in “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” (30% in 2013 and 40% in 2023.
“Seriously considering suicide” increased from 17% to 20%
However, the results were not all bleak. Around 2021, in their schools and communities. Mindfulness programs, virtual therapy in schools, incentives for students to graduate in the mental health field, and more awareness for youth mental health all aided the effort to improve our students’ mental health.
These changes mattered. Nearly all indicators of poor mental health that the CDC measured improved between 2021 and 2023 by around 2%. For example, in 2021, 42% of youth experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. In 2023, that percentage was down to 40%. All indicators experienced a similar 2% decrease.
Although 2% is not enough in the face of nearly half of students struggling with depression and other mental health problems, it is a positive change that can be capitalized on in the future as more healthy and life-saving resources are implemented.
Teenager Mental Health in the States
With much of youth mental health left up to the states, some states had better luck at implementing successful strategies than others. ran a study that looked at the rates of depression in teenagers in all of the states. This is what they found.
The rankings were based on these seven factors:
Youth with at Least One Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in the Past Year
Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year
Youth with Serious Thoughts of Suicide
Youth (Ages 6-17) Flourishing
Youth with MDE Who Did Not Receive Mental Health Services
Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not Cover Mental or Emotional Problems
Students (kindergarten and older)) Identified with Emotional Disturbance for an Individualized Education Program.
Here is how the states matched up, with 1 being the state with the lowest level of depression and 51 being the state with the highest level of depression:
District of Columbia
Delaware
Wisconsin
Pennsylvania
Massachusetts
New Jersey
New Hampshire
Connecticut
Nevada
Oklahoma
Colorado
Rhode Island
Illinois
Maryland
Vermont
South Carolina
Wyoming
North Dakota
Mississippi
New York
Minnesota
Georgia
Indiana
North Carolina
South Dakota
California
Arizona
Kentucky
Maine
Florida
New Mexico
Michigan
Missouri
Alabama
Alaska
Montana
Washington
Tennessee
Louisiana
Hawaii
Arkansas
West Virginia
Texas
Idaho
Virginia
Nebraska
Kansas
Oregon
What are Delaware, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania doing that Oregon, Kansas, and Nebraska aren’t? It’s hard to know for sure. to quality mental health care is important for most mental health factors. This means having good insurance that covers therapy so it’s not too expensive and access to good therapists who can get you in relatively quickly and meet your needs.
How to find a therapist for your teenager?
If your teenager is struggling with depression, therapy can help. Wherever you are, there are online therapists who can help. Online therapy is a great resource for teenagers because it does not require you to be in the same city or zipcode as your therapist and is often cheaper than in-person therapy.
We recommend , an online therapy that operates in states across the U.S, including Texas, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, Arizona, , Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
Learn more by visiting their website or calling their team at 855-722-4422
