Teen Depression Has Slightly Decreased, but the CDC’s Latest Report Is Deeply Flawed
The latest CDC teen depression statistics show notable drops in sadness and suicide risk, but critics warn key data was left out. Here’s what the report missed.
American teens are feeling slightly better, according to the latest Youth Risk Behavior Survey, published by the Centers for Disease Control. Conducted every two years, the latest report finds that mental health symptoms and suicide risk among teens dropped in 2025 compared with 2023. The numbers are notable – but there’s a caveat, NPR reports.
The good news is that persistent sadness or hopelessness that afflicted 42% of high schoolers in 2021 fell to 40% in 2023 and 33% in 2025. The share of high schoolers who seriously considered suicide dropped from 22% to 14% over those same four years, and the share who made a suicide plan fell from 18% to 12%.
“After the pandemic, we had our all time high of suicide attempts and ideation and visits to the ER with suicidality,” said Dr. Vera Feuer, chief clinical officer at the Child Mind Institute. Though many teens are still struggling, she called the new numbers encouraging.
The report also found teens eating more fruits and vegetables and joining more sports teams, though total physical activity saw little improvement. Overall, “this is good news for kids, for us, and for our country,” said Jennifer Shuford, CDC deputy director and chief medical officer.
The report reflects the MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) priorities of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in terms of food consumption and physical activity but it omits important items that have been in previous surveys: findings on smoking, vaping, substance abuse, sexual behavior, students’ attitude toward school and LGBTQ youth, as well as in-depth findings on race and ethnicity.
The name “MindSite News” is used with the express permission of Mindsight Institute, an educational organization offering online learning and in-person workshops in the field of mental health and wellbeing. MindSite News and Mindsight Institute are separate, unaffiliated entities that are aligned in making science accessible and promoting mental health globally.
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