Utah teen mental health creeps toward post-COVID improvement
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Youth mental health has begun to improve in Utah after the pandemic brought an increase in crises, new data shows.
Why it matters: The COVID-19 pandemic laid bare students' struggles as well as a fractured system to help them navigate recovery.
State of play: Of nine states with 2023 federal data reviewed by Axios, seven reported declining rates of sadness and hopelessness — including in Utah.
By the numbers: 37% of Utah teens polled during the CDC's 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey reported feeling sad or hopeless for at least two consecutive weeks of the previous year.
- That's down from 41.5% in 2021, and almost back to a pre-pandemic level of 36.7% in 2019.
Reality check: Rates of sadness and hopelessness had already jumped sharply before 2019.
- From 1999 to 2013, rates hovered around 26%. Between 2013 and 2017, they shot up to 33% and continued rising until 2021.
What they're saying: Overall, dedicating more resources to student well-being during the pandemic has started to pay off, Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health, told Axios.
- "These improvements — they're not huge, but they are important," she said.
Zoom out: The number of students in Colorado who feel sad or hopeless almost daily dropped to 26%, the lowest level since the survey's 2013 inception when it was 24%.
- In Washington, more students reported having adults to turn to when feeling depressed — 59% (2023) from 50% (2021).
- In North Carolina, the percentage of high school students who seriously considered suicide dropped to 18% (2023) from 22% (2021).
Yes, but: Montana saw a large spike, from 30.2% in 2021 to 43% in 2023.
Caveat: These survey findings are not yet comprehensive, and the CDC is expected to publish national results later this year.