Learn More

Youth Mental Health and Wellbeing is an Urgent and Complex Conversation.

Young Americans are experiencing elevated and deeply concerning levels of anxiety, loneliness, hopelessness and disconnectedness.

Between 2007 and 2021, the incidence of suicide among Americans between the ages of 10 and 24 rose by 62 percent. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that one in three teenage girls considered taking her life in 2021, up from one in five in 2011.

Overall, 39.7 percent of high school students reported feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness, 28.5 percent experienced poor mental health, 20.4 percent seriously considered attempting suicide and 9.5 percent had attempted suicide, according to the CDC’s 2023 Youth Behavior Risk Survey.

 

In the 2024 World Happiness Report, the United States fell eight spots from 15th to 23rd on the list. While Americans older than age 60 ranked 10th for happiness, those younger than 30 ranked 62nd.

Parents, healthcare professionals and society at large are rightly concerned about the state of youth wellbeing in America today and fear that it could get worse.

In a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, 40 percent of parents are “extremely” or “very” worried that their child will struggle with anxiety or depression, followed by 35 percent who are similarly concerned about their child being bullied.

More than half of teachers say that the current state of students’ mental health is hurting their ability to learn and socialize, as well as stressing educators’ capacity to manage their classrooms, according to the EdWeek Research Center.

Scientific studies, as well as mental health professionals, have stated that youth wellbeing is a complex and multifaceted issue, with several contributing factors.

The World Health Organization (WHO) states that multiple factors affect mental health, and the more risk factors adolescents are exposed to, the greater the potential impact on their mental health.

A study from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) identified multifaceted risk factors for adolescents’ mental problems across three layers, including individual traits and personality, family status and practices, and peer relationships and school climate. The study also suggests that factors from these three perspectives interact and are closely interconnected, directly or indirectly contributing to adolescent psychopathology.

A 2024 POLITICO survey of 1,400 clinicians cited social media, social isolation and external events outside their control, such as school shootings, climate change, war and political instability, as the top drivers of youth mental health issues.