The widening mental health gap among US teens

Female high schoolers report rising sadness and far worse mental health than their male peers

A growing catastrophe, split by gender

• YRBS data tracks how US high school students feel over time.

• Both charts reveal a sharp and persistent gender divide.

• Female students consistently report worse mental health than male students.

Sadness and hopelessness keep climbing

• Female students reporting sadness rose from 35.7% in 1999 to 52.6% in 2023, up 16.9 points.

• Male students rose from 21.0% to 27.7%, a smaller 6.7-point increase.

• More than half of female students now report feeling sad or hopeless.

• The gender gap widened as female rates climbed faster.

Poor mental health stays stubbornly high

• Female students reporting poor mental health dipped slightly from 40.8% in 2021 to 38.8% in 2023, down 2.0 points.

• Male students edged up from 18.1% to 18.8%, a 0.8-point rise.

• Female rates remain roughly double male rates.

• The small recent shifts show no real improvement for either group.

Takeaways

• Teen mental health has deteriorated over two decades, with female students hit hardest.

• Sadness among female students passed 50%, while male rates trail far behind.

• Recent years show the crisis holding steady, not easing.

• Closing the gender gap should be a clear priority for schools and policymakers.