Mental health crisis on the rise among America's youth: CDC

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
14 Feb 13:12
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About 57% of American girls felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021. That amount is double that of boys, reported being about 29%.

Young girl looking out the window, photographed on August 22, 2020. (Reuters)

A study published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed that the United States reached new lows in terms of youth mental health and well-being, CNN reported on Monday.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey has been carried out twice a year from 2011 until 2021.

According to the results, teenage girls are most likely to endure experiences of sadness, violence, and suicide risk.

About 57 percent of American girls (or one in three girls) felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021. That amount is double that of boys, which is reportedly about 29 percent.

Over the ten years, there has been a nearly 60 percent increase in these trends "and the highest level reported over the past decade."

Moreover, one in three girls reported having thought about attempting suicide, the study finds.

One in five girls experienced sexual violence in the past year - a sharp increase of 20% since 2017. "These data show a distressing picture," the CDC's chief medical officer Debra Houry told reporters, adding, "America's teen girls are engulfed in a growing wave of sadness, violence, and trauma."

"Over the past decade, teens, especially girls, have experienced dramatic increases in experiences of violence and poor mental health and suicide risk," Houry noted.

"These data are clear -- our young people are in crisis," said Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC division of adolescent and school health.

"Young people are experiencing a level of distress that calls on us to act with urgency and compassion," Ethier added.

She said measures were moving in the "wrong direction" before the Covid-19 outbreak. The "alarming" results of the study show that the mental health crisis remains ongoing.

"The social isolation from the pandemic certainly made things worse," she said further, pointing out that "Young people were separated from their peers and from their community and school supports."

Ethier concluded with concerns that social media had an impact on the youth's mental wellness.