The CDC's latest numbers on youth mental health: 10 stats to know

The CDC's latest data on youth mental health shows signs of improvement. 

The agency published data from the 2013-2023 "Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary & Trends Report" on Aug. 6. The survey is conducted every two years. In 2023, more than 20,000 students at 155 schools responded. 

The percentage of students reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness decreased from 2023 to 2021, especially among female students. 

"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," CDC Division of Adolescent and School Health Director Kathleen Ethier, PhD, said in an Aug. 6 news release. 

Here are 10 trends to note: 

  1. In 2023, 40% of high school students reported experiencing persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, down from 42% in 2021. In 2013, 30% of high school students reported feeling sad or hopeless. 

  2. Female and LGBTQ+ students were more likely to report feeling sad or hopeless than other groups. In 2023, 53% of female students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year, compared to 28% of male students. Of LBGTQ+ students surveyed 65% reported feeling sadness or hopelessness, compared with 31% of cisgender and heterosexual students. 

  3. Rates of sadness and hopelessness among female high school students decreased from 2021 to 2023. In 2021, 57% of female students reported persistent sadness or hopelessness, which declined to 53% in 2023. 

  4. Rates of sadness and hopelessness remained the same among most racial and ethnic groups. Among Hispanic students, the share reporting persistent sadness or hopelessness declined from 46% in 2021 to 42% in 2023.

  5. The number of high school students experiencing poor mental health stayed flat between 2021 and 2023, at 29%. 

  6. In 2023, 20% of high school students reported seriously considering attempting suicide, and 16% reported having a suicide plan. Numbers were down slightly from 2021, when 22% reported seriously considering attempting suicide, and 18% reported having made a suicide plan. 

  7. The number of female students who reported seriously considering suicide declined from 30% in 2021 to 27% in 2023. The percentage of male students who reported seriously considering attempting suicide stayed flat between 2021 and 2023, at 14%. Though rates declined among female students from 2021 to 2023, they have increased since 2013, when 22% of female high school students reported considering suicide. In 2013, 12% of male students reported considering attempting suicide. 

  8. The rates of students reporting seriously considering suicide remained roughly flat among racial and ethnic groups. The percentage of Hispanic students reporting seriously considering suicide in the past year declined to 18% in 2023, down from 22% in 2021. 

  9. The number of students who reported having attempted suicide and being injured in a suicide attempt have stayed roughly flat over the past 10 years. In 2023, 9% of high school students reported attempting suicide, compared to 8% in 2013. In 2023, 2% of students reported they had been injured in a suicide attempt that had to be treated by a doctor or nurse, compared to 3% in 2013. 

  10. Female and LGBTQ+ students were more likely to report having attempted suicide in the past year than other groups. In 2023, 13% of female high school students reported having attempted suicide, the same percentage as in 2021. In 2023, 6% of male students reported having attempted suicide, down from 7% in 2021. Among LGBTQ+ students, 20% reported attempting suicide in the past year, coompared to 6% of cisgender and heterosexual students. 

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