CDC data shows U.S. teen girls 'in crisis' with unprecedented rise in suicidal behavior

[JudyM]

Source: PBS/Associated Press

The pandemic took a harsh toll on U.S. teen girls’ mental health, with almost 60 percent reporting feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness, according to a government survey released Monday that bolsters earlier data.

Sexual violence, suicidal thoughts, suicidal behavior and other mental health woes affected many teens regardless of race or ethnicity, but girls and LGBTQ youth fared the worst on most measures, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. More than 17,000 U.S. high school students were surveyed in class in the fall of 2021.

In 30 years of collecting similar data, “we’ve never seen this kind of devastating, consistent findings,” said Kathleen Ethier, director of CDC’s adolescent and school health division. “There’s no question young people are telling us they are in crisis. The data really call on us to act.”

The research found:

Among girls, 30 percent said they seriously considered attempting suicide, double the rate among boys and up almost 60 percent from a decade ago.
Almost 20 percent of girls reported experiencing rape or other sexual violence in the previous year, also an increase over previous years.
Almost half of LGBTQ students said they had seriously considered a suicide attempt.
More than a quarter of American Indians and Alaska natives said they had seriously considered a suicide attempt — higher than other races and ethnicities.
Feelings of persistent sadness and hopelessness affected more than one-third of kids of all races and ethnicities and increased over previous years.
Recent poor mental health was reported by half of LGBTQ kids and almost one-third of American Indian and Alaska Native youth.

Read more: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/cdc-data-shows-u-s-teen-girls-in-crisis-with-unprecedented-rise-in-suicidal-behavior

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Another heartbreaking toll… not just of the pandemic, but of our current cultural fabric.

[Marthe48]

1. Of course

They have to fend off boys, who are tacitly permitted to solicit or take sex from girls. Or boys who won't keep their hands to themselves and again aren't corrected for their bad behavior.

And if the girls are aware of what's happening in the world, how can they avoid seeing themselves as breeders, and not give up on education and anything else that moves them upward and onward?

[Scrivener7]

3. One in five has been raped or sexually violated in the last year.

[JudyM]

8. At least there are fantastic role models of strength in public life today, from Pelosi to AOC

But I can’t imagine what it must be like for teen girls immersed in MAGA counties or MAGA families, more toxic than ever.

This trend is one more reason to hold tfg and all his minions to account. And pursue some action against beerboy, the 2nd highest profile boundary bully. It’s an insult to all women that he is on the Court.

[Marthe48]

12. agree

100%

[Scrivener7]

2. This just breaks my heart.

[JudyM]

9. Mine too, Scrivener.

Haunting suspicion that incest is on the rise, as well.

[Martin68]

20. Wouldn't that be more unlikely during the pandemic when everybody was home?

I imagine privacy suffered.

[JudyM]

21. You have a point there, could be less opportunity... I hope you're right.

[PSPS]

4. "The pandemic took a harsh toll" Um, no.

The underbelly of the country was let free with trump. This started well before "the pandemic."

[sybylla]

7. Exactly.

The "pandemic" and the response to it will get the blame for decades. Not at all where it belongs.

[JudyM]

11. Yes, exactly, he impelled the deterioration of our cultural fabric.

About as stark a good vs evil paradigm as we’ve seen in recent decades, reversing values, civility and fanning outright vilifying lies with his faux allies.

[republianmushroom]

5. unbelievable

what a sorrowful statistic.

[peppertree]

6. I can relate; I almost did in high-school

Am I "glad I didn't"? Not really. It never got easier.

But as they say, one gets stronger.

And that's what I'd tell any young person contemplating suicide: Show them all how strong you are.

Make them jealous of that one thing. Don't let the bastards win.

[hamsterjill]

10. With women being remanded back to the dark ages

It’s no wonder young girls are feeling helpless and sad. This is the result of the stupidity of the good ole boy networks who are fearful of strong women and try to intimidate and strong arm women. To the men who are NOT like that - thank you.

I hope there will be an aggressive campaign to take back women’s rights. Abortion rights have gone away with far too little of an outcry. Time for that to stop. Time for women to be treated equally by expecting it, not being surprised when it actually happens.

Put those female jet pilots that flew over the Super Bowl on every billboard available. Put the female brain surgeons and Katanji Brown, the female lawyers and the female trend setters out there. Cram those ladies down the good ole boys’ throats until they gag. Show these young girls that there ARE possibilities.

[JudyM]

15. Yes, it can't be overstated how discouraging that must be to teen girls.

The spectres of school shootings and looming, barely imaginable climate change impacts/biodiversity loss, etc, as well…

Hope is essential to mental health. IMO, the future doesn’t look too bright to anyone who’s at all tuned in.

Ugh, feeling so badly for them. We desperately need more leadership/mentoring… may be a good initiative for Kamala to champion…

[SYFROYH]

13. Incredibly sad news.

[BigmanPigman]

14. I wonder if they were teen males would they go on a shooting spree instead?

I get the feeling that young women harm themselves while young men harm others.

[roamer65]

16. Women are becoming slaves.

Removal of women’s reproductive rights is enslavement.

I am not surprised one bit that women are having depression issues.

[Hope22]

17. This is a sucker punch to the gut for all females.

The young ones need to see all of us in the streets. They need to be with us as we say ‘hell no!’. It can be sooner or later but now would be the best. I notice that the women’s march appears more disorganized than ever. We need to get back to DC and make the stand! I was shocked when I couldn’t find a march within 150+ miles of home.

[malthaussen]

18. The "pandemic" makes a convenient excuse.

A couple of things occur to me. First, I'd like to know if suicide is up all over, and not just among teenaged girls. I suspect it is, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the largest increase among that cohort, because our culture is doing everything in its power to degrade and abuse them even more than heretofore.

I am not convinced there is a causal link between the pandemic and these feelings of hopelessness, although certain circumstances of the lockdowns and other preventative reactions are probably contributory. For one thing, it isolates the potential victims of rape or sexual assault, or other violence. I seem to recall that other forms of domestic violence took an upturn during the pandemic, for exactly this reason of isolation and lack of a safety valve.

-- Mal

[Martin68]

19. I wonder if teenage girls have a greater need for social interaction than teenage boys do (which

was powerfully interrupted during the covid epidemic). I suppose they may also feel more pressure in regard to the "ideal" body image and personality that they are exposed to on a daily basis via the media, movies, and social apps. Or has depression always been more prevalent than we suspected, and for some reason we are just becoming more aware of it. I know I, as a cisgender white male, suffered quite a lot of depression and anxiety during my teenage years, but I had good times, too. Honestly, the same could be said for most of my life, not just my teen years.