5 Statistics That Explain the Current Teen Mental Health Crisis
Counseling Schools Search
When you click on a sponsoring school or program advertised on our site, or fill out a form to request information from a sponsoring school, we may earn a commission. View our advertising disclosure for more details.
Over the past few years, teens have experienced an alarming increase in mental illness in the U.S.
The 2010s, in particular, marked a decade of declining mental health capped off by the disruptive impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. The 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) indicated that among adolescents aged 12 to 17 in 2023, 18.1 percent of people had a past year major depressive episode (MDE), and 13.5 percent of people had a past year MDE with severe impairment. NSDUH is directed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), an agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
CounselingSchools.com analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services to illustrate some of the most concerning statistics in youth mental health today.
The trend has captured the attention of health professionals in every corner of the country, and, in recent years, has even resulted in a mobilization by the federal government to address what the surgeon general describes as a “devastating” challenge for teens.
The onset of Covid-19 resulted in unprecedented public measures to save lives, including the shutdown of schools across the nation. The death of parents and grandparents overcome by the novel disease, as well as the loss of milestone life experiences like school dances, birthday celebrations, and gatherings with peers, were just one more headwind for kids.
Without a significant source of socialization and learning, students’ mental health took a turn for the worse—a trend that’s lingered since schools reopened.
The nation’s top doctor has called on families, educators, healthcare professionals, and even tech companies to take part in addressing the crisis facing children. Regardless of your role, understanding the scope of the mental illness facing this generation of kids can be a worthy first step in combating it.
This article delves into five key statistics that shed light on the current state of teen mental health, emphasizing the urgency for comprehensive intervention and support.
One in Five Adolescents Diagnosed with a Mental Health Condition
The National Survey of Children’s Health (NSCH) is sponsored by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau of the Health Resources and Services Administration, an Agency in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NSCH examines the physical and emotional health of children ages 0-17 years of age.
According to this 2023 survey, over 5.3 million adolescents aged 12-17 years in the U.S. were diagnosed with a mental or behavioral health condition in 2023. Anxiety disorders were the most prevalent, affecting 16.1 percent of teens, followed by depression at 8.4 percent, and behavior or conduct problems at 6.3 percent.
Notably, the prevalence of diagnosed mental or behavioral health conditions among adolescents increased by 35 percent from 2016 to 2023. The prevalence of diagnosed anxiety increased 61 percent and depression increased 45 percent.
Hopelessness Feelings in School-age Children Rise 40 Percent Over Ten Years
Feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness grew by 40 percent from 2013 to 2023, according to the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Hopelessness is a normal emotion for children to feel occasionally, but when it’s persistent, it can signal a deeper struggle with depression. It can also be difficult to judge in children, as hopelessness can make a child act in ways that may appear to adults as mere laziness or troublemaking, according to the CDC.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer-identifying students reported the highest levels of depression in any group, with about 3 in 5 feeling persistently sad or hopeless, according to the survey. The CDC did not ask about gender identity, so it can’t be used to identify the mental health conditions of transgender students. Research indicates transgender youth face a higher risk of suicide and mental health crises than their peers.
39 Percent of LGBTQ+ Young People Seriously Considered Attempting Suicide in 2023
The Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ Young People amplifies the experiences of more than 18,000 LGBTQ+ young people ages 13 to 24 across the United States.
LGBTQ+ adolescents are at a significantly higher risk for suicide compared to their heterosexual peers. Emotional distress has had a uniquely disproportionate effect on LGBTQ+ youth, among whom nearly half considered suicide in 2023. According to the 2024 survey, 39 percent of LGBTQ+ young people seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, and over 12 percent of LGBTQ+ young people actually attempted suicide in the past year.
A small fraction of the American population identifies as LGBTQ+, and embracing that identity in public and with loved ones can lead to stigmatization, isolation, and sometimes violence. That dynamic can be especially trying for an adolescent person still heavily dependent on their immediate family for everyday needs and emotional support.
From proposing restrictions dictating which public restrooms they can use to passing bans on gender-affirming care, lawmakers have passed a record number of laws in recent years that would limit the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals. Many of those laws particularly impact transgender people. Psychological research draws a direct line between discriminatory laws and the mental health of transgender youth, who make up 5 percent of the young adult population.
This population of teenagers and young adults can also struggle to find mental health treatment that is tailored to their specific needs. A survey published in JAMA Pediatrics found that in 2020, fewer than one in three mental health services provided explicit support for things like the coming out process and gender-affirming therapy.
Adolescents ages 12 to 17 reported having serious thoughts of suicide in 2023
Depression in children has grown over the past few years, including the first year of the pandemic. Federal officials and experts point to several possible explanations for the worsening conditions. More kids today than ever have smartphones, and teens’ near-constant use of social media is broadly suspected to have some impact on their mental well-being. Psychologists have pointed out that the growth of early social media sites and the prevalence of smartphones track with the increase in mental illness over the last decade.
Other factors can influence a teen’s depression and anxiety, including the mental health of the adults they live with, poverty, discrimination, abuse, exposure to violence, trauma, drug use, and hereditary and biological conditions such as illness.
Some combination of those challenges has manifested in higher rates of suicide for the youngest and most vulnerable Americans. In 2018, deaths by suicide in youth ages 10 to 24 increased by 57 percent, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.
Most recently, about 12.3 percent of adolescents ages 12 to 17 reported having serious thoughts of suicide in 2023, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Adolescent girls struggled particularly hard with suicide during the pandemic years. In 2021, emergency department visits for suicide attempts among teen girls increased by 51 percent, as opposed to 4 percent for boys, compared to the same period pre-pandemic in 2019, according to a CDC study.
There are also racial disparities in suicides, with Black children twice as likely to die by suicide than their white peers. From 2018 to 2021, Black youth ages 10 to 24 saw the largest increase in suicide compared to any other demographic group, rising 36.6 percent, according to the CDC.
Nearly All Teens with Substance Use Disorders Go Without Treatment
The most recent data available from the CDC indicates that among the 1.8 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in 2023 who had a substance use disorder (SUD) in the past year and did not receive substance use treatment in the past year, 96.6 percent or 1.6 million people did not seek treatment or think they should get it. An estimated 0.5 percent of adolescents with a substance use disorder or 9,000 people sought treatment, and 2.8 percent of adolescents with an SUD, or 49,000 people did not seek treatment but thought they should get it.
Other studies show the ability to access treatment is more difficult for LGBTQ+ teens. Fifty percent of LGBTQ+ youth ages 13 to 24 were unable to get mental health care treatment despite wanting it, according to a Trevor Project survey in 2024.
Schools can be an important avenue to deliver children nutritious meals, safe environments from potentially abusive home lives, and other services like tutoring. And while they could also bridge the gap in the treatment of mental health issues, many do not, according to most recent data available from the National Center for Education Statistics (as of May 2025). In the 2021-22 school year, just 42 percent of schools offered some kind of treatment for mental illness. Those disparities have led to calls to expand the mental health workforce in schools, and there are signs of improvement. In the 2021-22 school year, school counselor-to-student ratios fell to their lowest levels in three decades.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis or thoughts of suicide, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 9-8-8 for professional help.
Dom DiFurio
Writer & Contributing ExpertDom DiFurio is a writer covering money, the economy, business trends, real estate, mental health trends, and more.
He’s published reporting in The Washington Post, USA Today, and ESPN Magazine as well as local and regional newsrooms across the country. He has been recognized by the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing, the Texas Associated Press Managing Editors, and Columbia University.