New Research Shows Texas Parents Want A Comprehensive Approach to Solving the Youth Mental Health Challenge
New Survey and Focus Group Series Underscores Parents’ Worries About Youth Mental Health and Desire for a Multifaceted Approach to the Challenge
For Immediate Release
May 21, 2025
Contact: [email protected]
WASHINGTON, DC — The Coalition to Empower our Future today released new research showing that parents in Texas are concerned about the state of youth mental health and wellbeing, feel there are many factors driving the issue, and are seeking a multifaceted approach that includes tools and resources to help them support their kids.
Ahead of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Coalition conducted conversations with parents across Texas to discuss the state of youth mental health and wellbeing. It also surveyed 600 parents in Texas in partnership with Mercury Analytics. The findings underscore widespread support – 82 percent – for a comprehensive approach to addressing youth mental health.
“This research makes clear that parents in Texas are deeply concerned about their kids’ mental health but recognize the complexity of the matter,” said Glen Weiner, executive director of the Coalition to Empower our Future. “Parents are stretched thin and are looking for more support. This moment is about rethinking how we address the youth mental health and wellbeing challenges from every angle to identify comprehensive, lasting solutions.”
Texas parents shared their insights into mental health struggles their children face:
- “Because there are so many things that contribute to anxiety and other mental health struggles that our kids go through, I don’t think it’s any one thing that is necessarily the cause of every child’s experience.”
- “The reasoning behind [worsening youth mental health] is multifaceted. Kids have a lot more to worry about nowadays than a lot of us did. My kids and their friends have all experienced extreme anxiety, depression, and things like that.”
- “Even if you find a solution, it may work for a little while or for some children, but then if anxiety or a new issue crops up, then you may have to find a different solution. [The approach] has to stay pretty fluid.”
The research also revealed that many parents feel responsible for youth mental health, and they are trying to provide their kids with the support systems they need but report they have trouble finding the right tools and resources. The survey findings emphasize the complexity of the issue and need for ongoing dialogue and collaboration between families, educators, and community members.
The full Texas research findings can be found HERE.
About the Coalition to Empower our Future
Coalition to Empower our Future is a newly formed organization bringing together a range of voices to fully inform solutions that empower youth, parents, communities and society. The Coalition to Empower our Future supports solutions that are inclusive of the full spectrum of factors impacting youth mental health. Former Montana Governor Steve Bullock, former assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Family Services at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services January Contreras, and former U.S. Representative Carlos Curbelo serve on the board of directors of the Coalition to Empower our Future. Dr. Caroline Carney, a board-certified psychiatrist and internist, is a health executive and clinician who serves as an expert advisor to the coalition.
To learn more, visit empowerourfuturecoalition.com or follow Coalition to Empower our Future on Facebook, X and YouTube.
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