Youth Mental Health
45% of LGBTQ+ students and 30% of female students in U.S. high schools reported that they had seriously considered attempting suicide.
Mental health among U.S. high school students, by sex and sexual identity
Fall 2021
Source: CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Notes: Because the 2021 national YRBS did not have a question assessing gender identity, data specifically on students who identify as transgender is not available. Survey questions on mental health and suicidality were worded as “During the past 12 months, did you….”
From 2011–2021, the share of high school students that experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, seriously considered suicide, or attempted suicide increased by 50%, 38%, and 25%, respectively.1 Surveys show that the pandemic has exacerbated the growing youth mental health crisis. Reports of worsening mental health and suicidality were highest among female and LGBTQ+ students. In Fall 2021, the share of female students that experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and either seriously considered or attempted suicide, was twice the share of male students. Almost half of LGBTQ+ students seriously considered attempting suicide and 22% attempted suicide — rates 3 to 4 times higher than that of heterosexual students.
Today’s youth face many challenges, such as social pressures, pandemic-related instabilities, anti-LGBTQ+ legislation, and school shootings.2,3,4 As schools closed at the start of the pandemic, in-person interactions with friends and social supports like teachers, counselors, and social workers, were significantly reduced.5 More than 140,000 children lost a parent or caregiver, and some lacked or lost housing, food, and medical care (Likelihood of eviction or foreclosure, Food insecurity).6 Over 300 bills that target LGBTQ+ youth and their right to healthcare and/or the ability to express themselves in school have been introduced across the nation, with many advancing to hearings and floor debates.7 Firearms are now the leading cause of death for U.S. children, with 110 school shooting incidents in 2023 alone.8,9
“Mental Health Among Adolescents”. CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/nchhstp/newsroom/docs/factsheets/dash-mental-health.pdf
“COVID-19 stressors and symptoms of anxiety and depression in a community sample of children and adolescents”. Watson, Coiro, Ciriegio, Dakkak, Jones, Reisman, Kujawa, and Compas. ACAMH. September, 2022. https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/camh.12598
“The Impact of Gun Violence on Children and Adolescents”. Panchal. KFF. October, 2022. https://www.kff.org/other/issue-brief/the-impact-of-gun-violence-on-children-and-adolescents/
“LGBTQ Rights”. ACLU. https://www.aclu.org/issues/lgbtq-rights
“PROTECTING YOUTH MENTAL HEALTH”. U.S. Surgeon General. https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-youth-mental-health-advisory.pdf
“COVID-19-Associated Orphanhood and Caregiver Death in the United States”. Hillis, Blenkinsop, Villaveces, Annor, Liburd, Massetti, Demissie, Mercy, Nelson III, Cluver, Flaxman, Sherr, Donnelly, Ratmann, and Unwin. American Academy of Pediatrics. December, 2021. https://publications.aap.org/pediatrics/article/148/6/e2021053760/183446/COVID-19-Associated-Orphanhood-and-Caregiver-Death?autologincheck=redirected
“Mapping Attacks on LGBTQ Rights in U.S. State Legislatures”. ACLU. April, 2023. https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights?impact=
“Child and Teen Firearm Mortality in the U.S. and Peer Countries”. McGough, Amin, Panchal, and Cox. KFF. July, 2022. https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/issue-brief/child-and-teen-firearm-mortality-in-the-u-s-and-peer-countries/
“K-12 School Shooting Database”. https://k12ssdb.org/data-visualizations
