Dive Brief:
- Teen rates of suicidal thoughts and depression declined between 2021 and 2024, according to survey results released Monday by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
- The National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows a 3-percentage-point decline to 10% in serious thoughts of suicide among youth ages 12-17 and a 5-percentage-point decline to 15.4% among adolescents who had a major depressive episode between 2021 and 2024.
- Many researchers, educators and behavioral experts point to the COVID-19 pandemic and increased screen time as contributing to worsening youth mental health in recent years. In response, many school systems increased supports and staff to address mental well-being, with some using federal pandemic emergency funding to pay for the initiatives.
Dive Insight:
Despite the resources and attention given to student mental health in recent years, education leaders — including special education professionals — say the demand for services is continuing to outweigh the availability of school-based mental health experts.
Additionally, schools want more funding specifically to address student mental well-being.
At the same time, the Trump administration earlier this year canceled the remaining funds for two federal multi-year grant programs for mental health services and professional development totaling $1 billion.
The U.S. Department of Education published proposed priorities for rewarding both grants earlier this month. The new priorities target high-need districts and would prohibit using grant money for “promoting or endorsing gender ideology, political activism, racial stereotyping, or hostile environments for students of particular races.”
A lawsuit by 16 states challenging the cancellation of the grants is pending.
The 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health survey measured a host of experiences with mental health conditions, substance abuse and treatments for people ages 12 and older. About 14,000 adolescents aged 12 to 17 were interviewed throughout 2024 for the annual survey.
“These data are incredibly valuable to researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and others, allowing for greater understanding of the nation’s behavioral health, and to help inform actions in support of President Trump’s vision to Make America Healthy Again,” said Art Kleinschmidt, SAMHSA principal deputy assistant secretary, in a statement. SAMHSA is an office within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Notable findings from the survey include:
- Nearly 1 in 5 youth ages 12-17 — or about 19% — reported moderate or severe symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder in 2024. The 2024 survey was the first time the measure of anxiety symptoms was included on the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.
- Of the students who had serious thoughts of suicide, the percentage who made a suicide plan in the past year declined to 4.6% in 2024 from 6.2% in 2021. The percentage who attempted suicide in the past year declined to 2.7% in 2024 from 3.6% in 2021.
- Among teens in 2024 with both a major depressive episode and substance use disorder within the past year, 72% had received either substance use treatment or mental health treatment in that time frame, while about 28% received neither.
- Among teens in 2024 who had used nicotine products in the past month, about 72% had vaped only and did not use tobacco products.
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