Results from the CDC’s 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey recently published show a disturbing trend. Almost 3 in 5 adolescent girls (57%) said they felt “persistently sad or hopeless” – the highest rate in a decade. And 30% of girls said they have seriously considered dying by suicide — a number that’s risen 60% over the past 10 years. The survey, which has been conducted every two years for 30 years, includes responses from 17,232 high school students in the U.S. When researchers looked at gender differences girls were fairing especially poorly compared to boys. However, there were a few reasons to be optimistic as alcohol and marijuana use continues to decline among teenagers compared to a decade earlier in 2011. NBC News interviewed nine girls about the CDC’s findings. These girls suggested social media comparison, the Pandemic, school shootings and gender discrimination were behind these alarming numbers. They also suggested there is considerably less stigma about mental health in their generation so teenagers are comfortable talking about it openly and possibly reporting it to the CDC.
