The Rapidly Increasing Rate of Teen Sadness

Original Artwork by Jade Qian

On February 13th, the CDC released 2021 statistics reporting that 3 in 5 teen girls in the U.S. have felt “persistently sad or hopeless.” These results are both disheartening and shocking since the new data has increased by almost 60% from statistics published in 2017; double the statistics of the boys polled. Additionally, the data concluded that more than 1 in 4 girls seriously considered suicide.¹“U.S. Teen Girls Experiencing Increased Sadness and Violence,” CDC, last modified February 13, 2023, accessed March 15, 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/p0213-yrbs.html. In searching for the cause of this increase, one cannot simply point to a single source. Teen sadness is not a new issue; it is, however, rising for young girls and LGBTQIA+ youth.

YRBSS (the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System) tracks and collects data on what is determined the be the most vital “health behaviors and risks” for American youth.²“Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS),” CDC, last modified November 22, 2022, accessed March 15, 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm. Since 2011, teen mental health data collection has been drawn about every two years, the most recent being in 2021 – the first since the beginning of the pandemic. Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic caused hardships and damaged teenage development in social interactions, schooling, and several other aspects of “normal” life. Isolation separated teens from friends and family and heavily contributed to mental health declines. Though it is impossible to point to just one source for the increase in teen sadness, the pandemic can be identified as a major contributor. However, it is important to consider the validity of the data collected, as many argue that statistics could be skewed based on school system polling. 

Since the student experience is relative to one’s respective school, school experience could affect the behavior of attending teens. Though, YRBSS respectively surveys classes from randomly selected public and private schools across the country for voluntary, anonymous surveying.³“Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS),” CDC, last modified November 22, 2022, accessed March 15, 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm. Despite the fact that it is not quantified how widespread and thorough surveying was, it can be assumed that a large data pooling was completed to reach accurate results. For instance, public school and private school experiences can be quite different. Whether the stress levels, workload, or access to extra help, many private schools provide students with a more rigorous educational experience. Nevertheless, while one might point to schooling experiences as the basis for teen sadness, the polling was collected across both public and private school students, thus concluding that it may not be the school causing excess stress and grief. So what then, is the reason for the substantial increase in student despair?

Teens with experiences of sexual assault and trauma have a high chance of feeling depressed or despair–thus adding to why the statistics have increased. In unison with the increase in females identifying feeling despair, the CDC reported that 1 in 5 teenage girls experienced sexual violence, a 20% increase since polling in 2017.⁴“U.S. Teen Girls Experiencing Increased Sadness and Violence,” CDC, last modified February 13, 2023, accessed March 15, 2023, https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/p0213-yrbs.html. Though the past few decades have brought more awareness to sexual assault, as displayed in the data, little has been done to prevent sexual assault. Girls continue to experience unwanted sexual attention at a heightened rate compared to just four years prior. Sexual violence can heavily affect mental health, causing girls with these experiences to struggle in their day-to-day lives. As unwanted encounters can be terrifying, and often shameful, many fail to seek help from a counselor or trusted companion. Grappling with these kinds of experiences alone can be detrimental to one’s mental health. Though the large numbers of teens experiencing ongoing depression do not entirely result from sexual violence, assaults remain a large contributing factor.

Providing students with access to trusted adults is only the first step in the right direction. Regarding the growing numbers of sexual violence, it is clear that education about safety and responsibility regarding consent is lacking. Awareness needs to begin at an early age– before students are in high school. Regardless, sexual violence can occur among people of all age groups, and it is nearly impossible to determine where most of the issue begins. Giving girls spaces to connect and feel safe is important in preventing these issues from continuing to be a major contributor to the increasing teen mental health decline.

In the past few decades, mental health crises have been brought to greater attention worldwide. Specifically in the U.S., schools have begun to implement resources to get help for those struggling. But it’s just not enough. Even if schools can regard the issue as important, students, especially young girls, need to feel comfortable enough to get help. Simply giving out a suicide hotline number, or making students watch a suicide prevention video does not do justice to the vast numbers of those struggling. School systems must take time to thoroughly educate students on what to do if they or a friend is struggling, and how to receive help. Though future data points are entirely unknown, it is vital to do everything to prevent teenage girls from losing themselves and their lives to mental health crises.