Fewer teenagers in the U.S. felt persistently sad or hopeless last year compared to 2021 (from 42% to 40%), according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The data also found that fewer female students (30% to 27%) and fewer Hispanic students (22% to 18%) considered dying by suicide.
And fewer Black students attempted to die by suicide (14% to 10%) in 2023, compared to 2021.
While that portion of the report was encouraging, the data also highlighted increases in the percentage of teens who said they experienced school-based violence.
Last year, while at school, more students were threatened or injured with a weapon (7% to 9%) or bullied (15% to 19%) compared to 2021.
There was also an increase in the number of students who missed classes due to safety concerns while at school or on their way there (9% to 13%).
“The data released today show improvements to a number of metrics that measure young people's mental well-being – progress we can build on,” said Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC's chief medical officer and deputy director for program and science. “However, this work is far from complete. Every child should feel safe and supported,” Houry said.
Melissa Santos, a psychologist at Connecticut Children’s in Hartford, said the hospital treats teens who are bullied as a result of a number of factors.
“It could be their identity, a learning disability. It could be because of a medical condition,” Santos said. “The CDC report definitely shows what happens when we invest in kids' mental health. So, we saw the decrease in the number of students who are reporting experiencing feelings of sadness and hopelessness as well as suicide attempts.”
While the CDC data points to some progress when it comes to youth mental health, Santos said the report also calls attention to areas where there is room for improvement.
“It also does show that we still have a lot of work to do, because while we've seen improvements in those scores, there's still a tremendous number of kids reporting symptoms of sadness and hopelessness as well,” Santos said.
Mark Barden co-founded Sandy Hook Promise after his son Daniel was killed in a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown in 2012.
Barden said the nonprofit is scaling up its school mental health programs nationally to focus on various issues including bullying.
“We train students how to recognize the difference between healthy alone time and somebody who may be at risk because of chronic, sustained social isolation, and give them trainings and toolkits on how to make that person feel more connected and valued,” Barden said. “And our research informs us that it's really effective, and it just captures things way upstream that will never happen because that person was included, and it's as simple as that.”
The CDC report also focused on health disparities, particularly among female and LGBTQ+ high school students, who report higher rates of violence, poor mental health and suicidal thoughts and behaviors than their peers.
In 2023, nearly three in 10 LGBTQ+ students were bullied at school, and two in 10 attempted suicide.
“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 Kathleen Ethier, director at the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health. "It is critical to address school-based violence and safety concerns.”
Legislators are taking note.
The Connecticut General Assembly passed legislation last session that authorized a task force to study how bullying and hate speech affects the mental health of students.
The Hartford Courant reported that between January and July 2024, seven Connecticut school districts — Glastonbury, East Haddam, Cheshire, Wilton, Colchester, Cromwell, West Hartford — were allegedly involved in racist incidents involving students.
