The New York Times (2/13, Ghorayshi, Rabin) reports, “Nearly three in five teenage girls felt persistent sadness in 2021, double the rate of boys, and one in three girls seriously considered attempting suicide, according to data” (PDF) released Feb. 13 by the CDC. These “findings, based on surveys given to teenagers across the country, also showed high levels of violence, depression and suicidal thoughts among lesbian, gay and bisexual youth.” The CDC report found that “more than one in five of these students reported attempting suicide in the year before the survey.”
The Washington Post (2/13, A1, St. George) reports, “In 2021, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association together declared ‘a national state of emergency’ in children’s mental health,” and “a year later, the organizations sounded the alarm again.”
According to Healio (2/13, Weldon), the survey data also revealed that “in all categories…girls fared worse than their male peers in 2021, with…14% reporting ever being forced to have sex – a statistic that Kathleen Ethier, PhD, director of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, called ‘truly alarming.’”
Also covering the story are USA Today (2/13, Rodriguez), Reuters (2/13, Srinivasan), and NBC News(2/13, Edwards).
Related Links:
— “CDC: Teen girls experiencing record level of sadness, hopelessness “Rose Weldon, Healio, February 13, 2023