According to an alarming new report, there has been an epidemic of sadness among teenage girls in the United States in recent years.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) survey found that in 2021, 57 percent of teenage girls experienced “persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness” — the highest proportion in a decade.
That number was even higher — about 70 percent — among teens who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, scrutinizing, or some other non-heterosexual identity. Overall, one in three high school students said they had seriously considered suicide in the past year.
Mountains of research suggest that social media is boosting young girls’ confidence, while the impact of school closures, lockdowns and other restrictions during the Covid pandemic is believed to have exacerbated teenage mental health crises.
The proportion of young women suffering from persistent depression is at its highest level in about 10 years
Girls were about twice as likely as boys to have seriously considered suicide, with 24 percent making a plan to go ahead
While about a third of girls considered suicide, about 13 percent actually attempted it, compared to 7 percent of men
In addition to an increase in suicidality among teenage girls, rates of violence, particularly sexual violence, are also increasing.
Depression levels in teenage girls were also significantly higher than in teenage boys.
Conducted every two years, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey monitors different types of unhealthy behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among adolescents and adults: sexual behavior, drug use, incidents of violence and mental health.
The survey data, collected in Fall 2021, reflects responses from more than 17,200 US high school students.
dr Debra Houry, CDC chief medical officer and associate director for program and science, said, “America’s adolescent girls are being gripped by a wave of sadness, violence and trauma.
“This data is difficult to hear and should lead to action.”
The study didn’t specifically look at the causes of persistent sadness in teenage girls, although CDC officials did suggest that higher rates of violence, particularly sexual violence, played a role.
Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC Division of Youth and School Health, told reporters, “Our teenage girls are suffering an overwhelming wave of violence and trauma that is affecting their mental health.”
dr Ethier added that the “social isolation” caused by the pandemic, as well as widespread use of social media, which have been linked to increased rates of suicidal tendencies and low self-esteem, also have some blame.
Sexual violence among girls has been on the rise, with one in five saying they have experienced it in the past year, a 20 percent increase since 2017, according to the CDC.
CDC officials told reporters that while the study failed to identify causes for the rising rates of depression among teenage girls, rising rates of sex crimes committed against them play a major role
More than a tenth, or 14 percent, said they had been forced to have sex, versus 11 percent of teenage girls who reported having been sexually abused in 2019.
dr Ethier said: “If you think of every 10 teenage girls you know, at least one and possibly more have been raped and that’s the highest level we’ve seen.”
Girls were also more prone to contemplating suicide than boys (30 percent vs. 14 percent), not only in 2021 but consistently over the past decade.
The rate of persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in teenage boys was also about half that in teenage girls, at 29 percent.
Meanwhile, girls were about twice as likely to be cyberbullied as boys. But school bullying has decreased overall.
CDC officials told reporters that school-based mental health programs are critical to helping teens cope with depression and the aftermath of trauma.
dr Howry said: “Schools are on the front lines of the mental health crisis and need to be equipped with the proven tools to help students thrive.”
However, the report highlighted some trends that it said were moving “in the right direction”. For example, the percentage of male and female college students who reported being sexually active fell in 2021 from 33 and 34 percent, respectively, in 2011 to 19 and 23 percent, respectively.
Marijuana use among men also fell to 14 percent in 2021, while use among teenage girls remained relatively constant at 18 percent.