News Mashup for April 2022
CDC’s Adolescent Behaviors And Experiences Survey
On April 1, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released four reports drawing on data from the one-time, online survey Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES). The survey, conducted from January to June in 2021, provides a pandemic-era snapshot of substance use, mental health and suicidality, perceived racism, and disruptions to home/school life experienced by students grades 9-12. ABES is national sampling of 128 public and private schools and 7,705 students. Participants completed a self-administered, 110-question survey in English or Spanish using a secure URL.
The findings, “echo a cry for help,” says CDC Acting Deputy Director Debra Houry in a pre-release interview with U.S. News and World Report, “The covid-19 pandemic has created traumatic stressors that have the potential to further erode students’ mental well-being.”
Specifically, ABES revealed that:
31.6% of high school students use tobacco products, alcohol, marijuana, or unprescribed opioids, with approximately 1-in-3 pre-pandemic users reporting increased frequency.
44.2% of high school students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, with 19.9% reporting suicide ideation, and 9.0% reporting an attempt. Girls and LGBT youth reported poorer mental health and more suicide attempts than others.
35.6% of high school students felt the effects of racism. Perceived racism was highest among Asian (63.9%), Black (55.2%), and multi-racial students (54.5%).
Students experienced increased suffering and insecurity due to parental job loss (29%), personal job loss (22%), hunger (24%), or emotional abuse by a parent or other adult in their home (55%).
Commenting on the ABES findings, Temple University psychologist Laurence Steinberg told reporter Derek Thompson (The Atlantic) that “rising teenage sadness isn’t a new trend, but rather the acceleration and broadening of a trend that clearly started before the pandemic.”
Steinberg’s crisis-long-in-the-making sentiments dovetail with CDC’s analysis of 2005-2011 and 2013–2019 data from the nine federal surveillance systems that monitor mental health indicators among youth age 3-17 years (News Mashup February 2022). Click on the links below to learn more.
Adriana Rico, Nancy D. Brener, Jemekia Thornton, Jonetta J. Mpofu, William A. Harris, Alice M. Roberts, Greta Kilmer, David Chyen, Lisa Whittle, Michelle Leon-Nguyen, Connie Lim, Andrew Saba1 Leah N. Bryan, Jennifer Smith-Grant, and J. Michael Underwood. April 1, 2022. Adolescent behaviors and experiences survey — United States, January–June 2021: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Supplemental Report. Retrieved April 1, 2022 from https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/MMWR-Supplement-April-1-2022.pdf .
Sherry Everett Jones, Kathleen A. Ethier, Marci Hertz, Sarah DeGue, Vi Donna Le, Jemekia Thornton, Connie Lim, Patricia J Dittus, and Sindhura Geda. April 1, 2022. Mental health, suicidality, and connectedness among high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic — Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January–June 2021. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Retrieved April 22, 2022 from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/su/su7103a3.htm .
Jonetta J. Mpofu, Adina C. Cooper, Carmen Ashley, Sindhura Geda, R. Lee Harding, Michelle M. Johns, Adiaha Spinks-Franklin, Rashid Njai, Davia Moyse, and J. Michael Underwood. April 1, 2022. Perceived racism and demographic, mental health, and behavioral characteristics among high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic — Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January–June 2021. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Retrieved April 22, 2022 from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/su/su7103a4.htm?s_cid=su7103a4_w&utm_medium=email .
Kathleen H. Krause, Jorge V. Verlenden, Leigh E. Szucs, Elizabeth A. Swedo, Caitlin L. Merlo, Phyllis Holditch Niolon, Zanie C. Leroy, Valerie M. Sims, Xiaoyi Deng, Sarah Lee, Catherine N. Rasberry, and J. Michael Underwood. April 1, 2022. Disruptions to school and home life among high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic — Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January–June 2021. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Retrieved April 22, 2022 from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/su/su7103a5.htm?s_cid=su7103a5_w&utm_medium=email .
Nancy D. Brener, Michele K. Bohm, Christopher M. Jones, Samantha Puvanesarajah, Leah Robin, Nicolas Suarez, Xiaoyi Deng, R. Lee Harding, and Davia Moyse. April 1, 2022. Use of tobacco products, alcohol, and other substances among high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic — Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January–June 2021. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Retrieved April 22, 2022 from https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/su/su7103a2.htm?s_cid=su7103a2_w&utm_medium=email .
KHN Morning Briefing. April 1, 2022. ‘Sad or hopeless’: CDC warns of looming teen mental health crisis. Kaiser Health News. Retrieved April 22, 2022 from https://khn.org/morning-breakout/sad-or-hopeless-cdc-warns-of-looming-teen-mental-health-crisis/ .
Matthew Hirschtritt. April 8, 2022. The kids are not alright. MindSite News. Retrieved April 22, 2022 from https://mindsitenews.org/newsletter/the-kids-are-not-allright/ .
Derek Thompson. April 11, 2022. Why American teens are so sad. The Atlantic. Retrieved April 24, 2022 from https://www.theatlantic.com/newsletters/archive/2022/04/american-teens-sadness-depression-anxiety/629524/ .
Carolyn Reinach Wolf. April 12, 2022. Biden should appoint a mental health czar. The Hill. Retrieved April 30, 2022 from https://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/3265108-biden-should-appoint-a-mental-health-czar/ .
Katherine Schaeffer. April 25, 2022. In CDC survey, 37% of U.S. high school students report regular mental health struggles during COVID-19. PEW Research. Retrieved April 28, 2022 from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/04/25/in-cdc-survey-37-of-u-s-high-school-students-report-regular-mental-health-struggles-during-covid-19/ .
Schools Screen For GAD and MDD?
In mid-April, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) issued a draft-for-comment proposal recommending annual school-based screening of students for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) starting at age 8 and 12 years, respectively.
Implementation of USPSTF’s final recommendation, regardless of any post-comment fine-tuning, is likely to be difficult to implement, however.
Last Fall, investigative reporter Christine Vestal writing for Stateline (PEW Charitable Trust) used data from the National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) to illustrate the severe shortage of school-based professionals available for screenings. Across the U.S., the average professional to student ratio was 1 to 1,211, well shy of the one professional for every 500 students recommended by NASP. Click on the links below to learn more.
U.S. Preventative Services Task Force. April 12, 2022. Screening for Anxiety in Children and Adolescents. USPSTF DRAFT RECOMMENDATION STATEMENT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT. Retrieved April 28, 2022 from https://www.uspreventiveservicestaskforce.org/uspstf/draft-recommendation/screening-anxiety-children-adolescents#fullrecommendationstart.
Eli Cahan and Mary Kekatos. April 12, 2022. As youth mental illness soars, US task force recommends screening children as young as age 8 for anxiety. ABC News. Retrieved April 24, 2022 from https://abcnews.go.com/Health/youth-mental-illness-soars-us-task-force-recommends/story?id=84036348 .
Rhitu Chatterjee. April 17, 2022. It's time to screen all kids for anxiety, physicians' task force recommends. NPR. Retrieved April 28, 2022 from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/04/17/1093164270/kids-anxiety-screening-uspstf .
Amy Kennedy. April 28, 2022. Mental health screenings for youth are critical: Here’s how you can help. The Kennedy Forum. Retrieved April 29, 2022 from https://www.thekennedyforum.org/blog/mental-health-screenings-for-youth-are-critical-heres-how-you-can-help/ .
More Stories in April: It’s time to go to school on student mental health CSBA — 04.01.2022; Another L.A. juvenile hall fails inspection weeks after Central Juvenile Hall evacuation Los Angeles Times — 04.01.2022; With students in turmoil, US teachers train in mental health AP News — 04.04.2022; Charted: The 'national emergency' in youth mental health Advisory Board — 04.04.2022; State program highlights need for teachers to train in mental health to assist students KQED — 04.05.2022; New criteria for access to Medi-Cal Specialty Mental Health Services for beneficiaries under age 2 National Health Law Program — 04.06.2022; Help wanted: Building a pipeline to address the children’s mental health provider workforce shortage National Governors Association — 04.07.2022; California’s mental health bill for youth is too little, too late The Highlander — 04.13.2022; Kids' mental health at risk of becoming America's next culture war Axios — 04.14.2022; What’s behind the protests against schools trying to boost kids’ mental health? MindSite News — 04.14.2022; Mental health hotline numbers would appear on California college student ID cards if bill passes EdSource — 04.15.2022; How families are advocating for children with disabilities in foster care California Health Report — 04.21.2022; As teen mental health worsens, schools learn how to help Education Week — 04.21.2022 Discriminatory transgender health bills have critical consequences for youth Child Trends — 04.21.2022; Parents challenge law outlawing treatment of trans kids MedScape — 04.22.2022; ‘Really scary and sad’: How school counselors got caught in the GOP’s culture-war dragnet The Rolling Stone — 04.24.2022; What we lose when we conflate child “abuse” and “neglect” ProPublica — 04.25.2022; Harvard Youth Poll Spring 2022 Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics — 04.25.2022; ‘It’s life or death’: The mental health crisis among U.S. teens New York Times — 04.26.2022; A former judge leads plan to overhaul California’s juvenile justice system EdSource — 04.28.2022; Young advocates take the lead to curb campus suicide MindSite News — 04.27.2022; California’s youngest children need more mental health support, advocates say in request for funding CalMatters — 04.29.2022; LGBTQ+ youth with autism face greater mental health challenges, study says The Hill — 04.29.2022; Policies that erase Black, brown or LGBTQ youth are a crisis Youth Today — 04.29.2022.
