Several recent national and international reports offer some insights into youth mental health with some encouraging signs along with some concerning trends.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows improvement in some areas of youth mental health and, conversely, an increase in mental health concerns related to violence and safety over the period 2021 to 2023.

Specifically, the report found a decrease in

• Students overall who experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness (from 42% to 40%).
• Female students who experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness (from 57% to 53%).
• Hispanic students who experienced poor mental health (30% to 26%).
• Black students who attempted suicide (from 14% to 10%).

The study found an increase in

• Students who were threatened or injured with a weapon at school (7% to 9%).
• Students who were bullied at school (15% to 19%).
• Students who missed school because of safety concerns either at school or on the way to school (9% to 13%).

The latest national data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration finds that in 2023 among adolescents aged 12 to 17,

• 18% had a past year major depressive episode (13% with severe impairment).
• 12% had serious thoughts of suicide and 3% attempted suicide in the past year.

This report also looks at how many teens are receiving treatment and the types of mental health treatment. In 2023, nearly 1 in 3 adolescents (32%) in the U.S. received mental health treatment. The most common type of mental health treatment was in an outpatient setting, such as a therapist at an office or counselor at school. An estimated one in seven adolescents received a prescription for mental health medication in 2023.

The Impact of Broad Socioeconomic Trends and Finding Solutions

A new report from The Lancet Psychiatry Commission on youth mental health takes a global perspective on youth mental health, noting that “that in many countries, the mental health of young people has been declining over the past two decades, signaling a warning that global megatrends and changes in many societies are increasing mental ill health.” The report is the result of a collaborative effort of some 50 experts around the world, and with involvement of youth who have experienced mental health issues, over a five-year period.

The authors suggest that youth mental health has been impacted by interconnected socioeconomic and commercial forces, ‘megatrends,’ such as climate change, harmful social media, declining social cohesion, and economic insecurity. They argue these trends undermine personal and economic security and create a bleak future for young people.

The report also highlights ongoing effective approaches to address the issue and points to an important shift to focusing on the period of emerging adulthood, ages 12 to 25, rather than a clear division of youth/adult at age 18. The authors also emphasize the need for focusing services on prevention and on early intervention with children and families and suggest that mental health care for young people must be sensitive to this age group’s specific biological, cognitive, social, and cultural changes.”

The report urges that a “new proactive and stigma-free system of youth mental health care is needed that is developmentally, culturally, and epidemiologically appropriate.” This system should build upon integrated models of enhanced primary youth mental health care which maximize access, acceptability, and outcomes, and have been shown to be effective.