Just ask the kids—national and state surveys did exactly that, and many of the responses are troubling.
We must hope that the national nervous breakdown in America will not be permanent. However, it is becoming increasingly challenging to be self-assured or to accurately anticipate the enigmatic process that could restore society’s equilibrium.
A tragic symbol of our troubled times is the dark alliteration “Deaths of despair,” which refers to rising mortality rates from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholism, particularly among white working-class Americans and to the point of lowering overall U.S. life expectancy.
According to an alarming and much-discussed biennial survey of young people published last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “lives of despair” may be the only equally honest label to describe the apparent quiet desperation of American teenagers, particularly girls.
One of the shocking headlines that has appeared in a lot of coverage of The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which was based on responses from more than 17,000 high school students across the country, is that almost 6 out of 10 high school girls in the United States (57%) report having “persistent feelings of hopelessness.” They were unable to engage in normal activities for several weeks due to their severe distress. This is significantly higher than it was a decade ago, and it is twice as high as the depression rate reported by high school boys (at 29 percent).
The responses these young people provide regarding suicide are even more startling. According to the survey, 30 percent of high school girls “seriously considered attempting suicide” in 2021, and 13 percent (or more than 8 percent) said they had actually attempted suicide. Again, these appalling numbers have significantly increased in recent years and are twice as high as those reported for boys.
DREAMSTIME, TNS – TNS According to the CDC, “nearly 25% of female students made a suicide plan” and “60% of female students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year.” Over the past year, close to 70% of LGBQ+ students reported having persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and more than 50% reported having poor mental health over the past 30 days. In the past year, nearly 25% attempted suicide.
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We must hope that the national nervous breakdown in America will not be irreversible. However, it is becoming increasingly challenging to be self-assured or to accurately anticipate the enigmatic process that could restore society’s equilibrium.
A tragic symbol of our troubled times is the dark alliteration “Deaths of despair,” which refers to rising mortality rates from suicide, drug overdose, and alcoholism, particularly among white working-class Americans and to the point of lowering overall U.S. life expectancy.
According to an alarming and much-discussed biennial survey of young people published last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “lives of despair” may be the only equally honest label to describe the apparent quiet desperation of American teenagers, particularly girls.
One of the shocking headlines that has appeared in a lot of coverage of The Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which was based on responses from more than 17,000 high school students across the country, is that almost 6 out of 10 high school girls in the United States (57%) report having “persistent feelings of hopelessness.” They were unable to engage in normal activities for several weeks due to their severe distress. This is significantly higher than it was a decade ago, and it is twice as high as the depression rate reported by high school boys (at 29 percent).
The responses these young people provide regarding suicide are even more startling. According to the survey, 30 percent of high school girls “seriously considered attempting suicide” in 2021, and 13 percent (or more than 8 percent) said they had actually attempted suicide. Again, these appalling numbers have significantly increased in recent years and are twice as high as those reported for boys.
ADVERTISEMENT About 45% of respondents who identified as LGBQ+ indicated that they were seriously contemplating suicide.
The apparent detachment from reality of these appalling outcomes is not the least disturbing aspect of them. Although suicide rates in the United States are tragically high, they do not reflect these levels of reported intent.
The actual suicide rate among females in the United States between the ages of 15 and 24 is approximately 6 per 100,000 people, or 0.006%, according to a completely different CDC report. Therefore, if the responses to the behavior survey are to be taken literally, approximately 2,100 young women attempt suicide for every suicide death.
In addition, despite the fact that the survey indicates that girls are twice as likely to commit suicide as boys, the CDC statistics indicate that actual suicide deaths occur four to five times more frequently among young males than among young females.
Knowing that teens’ reports of suicidal thoughts may not be what they appear to be can provide some comfort. However, it is difficult to imagine the miserable state of mind that inspires such ominous fantasies.
The most recent Minnesota Student Survey, conducted by the state government of Minnesota and released in December, found a similar level of “crisis” stress and anxiety among students attending public schools, particularly girls. The COVID pandemic’s trauma was cited as a major cause in both the official analysis and the reporting on these trends. However, the rise in “mental health issues” that has been reported here and elsewhere began prior to the pandemic.
The state survey’s extensive investigation of two traditional sources of adolescent stress and anxiety—students’ sexual lives and their sense of personal safety—reveals more surprising shifts.
According to the survey, 93% of female high school juniors said they were “Heterosexual (straight)” in 2013. Only 65% of junior girls in 2022 said they were like that. The percentage of boys increased from 95% in 2013 to 88% in 2022.)
In 2016, the first time the question about gender identity was asked, 98% of junior boys and 97% of junior girls responded “No.” Are you unsure of your gender identity, consider yourself to be transgender, genderqueer, or genderfluid?
“Your gender identity matches your sex assigned at birth” was reported by only 90% of 11th grade girls (87%) by 2022. The percentage of junior boys decreased to 95 percent.)
These seem like significant shifts. Teenage years have always been marked by sexual exploration and uncertainty. However, when the proportion of young women reporting an alternative gender identity more than triples in six years and the sexual orientation of young women spontaneously shifts by 30% in a decade, it may not be unreasonable to wonder what’s causing all of this and how it affects them.
Meanwhile, a recent Star Tribune article dubbed “alarm over rising threat of violence in schools,” particularly in St. Paul, is supported by the Minnesota survey. According to the findings of the statewide survey, in 2013, 48% of 11th-grade girls indicated that they “strongly agree” that “I feel safe at school.” That percentage had dropped to 18% among junior girls by 2022, well below the 42 percent who strongly felt safe in their neighborhoods and the 58 percent who strongly felt safe at home. Boys, who report feeling somewhat safer everywhere, exhibit a similar pattern.)
Essentially, teens’ perceptions of safety have deteriorated significantly since a decade ago.
There is a problem. Our children are anxious, lost, and depressed. When confronted with such disturbing revelations, we all face a temptation. It’s the temptation to carefully consider the new information, reevaluate all of the evidence and interpretations, and then come to the apparent surprise that it precisely confirms everything we had assumed.
I’m the same way. I could line up my usual suspects, the people I’ve always thought were particularly evil and responsible for our current social mess, and present them to the reader. However, I will not proceed with that (this week).
Instead, I’ll just say that America’s young lives of despair and its deaths of despair are signs of social disorders and ought to motivate us all to take drastic action, like thinking of a few new ideas.
(Also, stop and start over if you’re already making a mental list of new ideas for other people to think about.)
