What's Causing The Growing Mental Health Crisis Among US Teens?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
About 44% of American teenagers say they feel "persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness," according to an Apr. 2022 report from the CDC.
The public health agency says that depression or anxiety among U.S. teenagers have been historically associated with behavioral risks like "drug use, experiencing violence, and higher-risk sexual behaviors." The number of teenagers struggling with these issues is up from 26% in 2009 and 37% in 2019, leading many researchers to believe that the mental health crisis was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The report also called for a "more in-depth examination" of the associations between "perceived racism and behavioral health outcomes for youths with multiple marginalized identities."
The Atlantic (Lean Left bias) highlighted how social media use among teenagers "seems to hijack" obsessive thinking about body image and popularity. The op-ed also pointed to journalism's "famous bad-news bias" as well as a notable increase in an "accommodative" parenting style where children are insulated from risk and subsequently don't learn "how to release negative emotions in the face of inevitable stress." Highlighting a couple of "conservative solutions," Turning Point USA (Right bias) accentuated the abandonment of "our primal roles in life," arguing that Americans should embrace their "natural roles as men and women." The article also pointed to the "hyper-sexualization of children," emphasizing how "we tell young women they will feel empowered by 'taking control of their bodies'" and that "hook-up culture" breaks down young girls "on a biological level."
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Center
Nearly Half of U.S. Teens Report Feeling Sad and Hopeless: What Can Be Done?
It’s never been easy to be a teenager, but today’s youth are grappling with a mental health crisis of epic proportions.
An April 2022 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — the Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences SurveyTrusted Source — shows that 44% of teens feel “persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness.”
According to previous CDC data,Trusted Source this is an increase from around 26% in 2009 and 37% in 2019.
The startling data demonstrate how a growing youth mental health crisis has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Mental health problems in...
From the Left
Why American Teens Are So Sad
The United States is experiencing an extreme teenage mental-health crisis. From 2009 to 2021, the share of American high-school students who say they feel “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” rose from 26 percent to 44 percent, according to a new CDC study. This is the highest level of teenage sadness ever recorded.
The government survey of almost 8,000 high-school students, which was conducted in the first six months of 2021, found a great deal of variation in mental health among different groups. More than one in four girls reported that they...
From the Right
CDC Finds American Teens “Persistently Sad or Hopeless” — Here’s 2 Conservative Solutions
According to a new survey by the CDC, American teens are facing a drastic mental health crisis.
Below are the crazy numbers for “Percent of High-School Students Feeling Persistently Sad or Hopeless”
A few thoughts:
Long-Term Joy vs. Fleeting Pleasure: We are abandoning our primal roles in life in exchange for immediate and brief sensations of pleasure and “happiness.” The more we tell our children to idolize celebrities, social media followers, money, and self-gratification OVER long-term fulfilling purpose, service, and joy, the more we will see these numbers grow. We must embrace love,...
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