Hopeless High-School Students: Youth Risk Behavior Survey Results 2023

Two out of five high school students in the US in 2023 experienced “persistent feelings of sadness or helplessness,” according to the most recent report by the CDC. The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is a comprehensive survey of various risk in areas of mental health, sexual behavior, alcohol and other drug use, suicide ideation, and more that is conducted every other year.

The data on sadness and helplessness showed a slight drop from 2021, when it was 42%, to 40% in 2023. But we saw a huge jump in 2021 from years before, with data from 2013 - 2017 hovering about 30%, then jumping to 37% in 2019, and again in 2021 up to 42%.

As we have seen in many other youth surveys, girls are more likely than boys to report feeling hopeless and sad, as in 2023 53% of girls reported such persistent feelings compared to a much lower 28% of boys. In a somewhat hopeful trend (although still way too high), however, this 53% figure for girls is down from 57% in 2021.

Another alarming difference is seen in the LGBTQ+ population, with 65% of high school students identifying as such telling us they have such persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness compared to 31% of students not identifying in this way.

While the YRBS does not ask about why this might be the case, other research tells us that there can be many areas that can impact this. Several fairly recent books have looked at this and postulated reasons such as a lack of connectedness (Lisa Damour), anxiety fueled by social media (Jonathan Haidt), and the toxic achievement culture (Jennifer Breheny Wallace). I have certainly argued in my research and writing that the college choice process needlessly drives youth (and parent) anxiety due to misconceptions people have about the differential impact of college and .

This is a multifaceted issue and will need multiple approaches to help young women and men feel more hopeful and less sad in their daily lives.