CDC Data Shows Improvement in Teen Mental Health and Suicide Risk

New 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey findings show declines in several measures of poor mental health and suicide risk among U.S. high school students, while one-third still reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.

Five of the six mental health and suicide-risk indicators tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention improved between 2023 and 2025, including seriously considering suicide, making a suicide plan, and attempting suicide.

The findings are part of the CDC's Youth Health in Focus: Findings From the National Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2015–2025, which examines changes in high school students' health and well-being over the past two and 10 years. The report also looks at digital behaviors, including frequent social media use.

Fewer High School Students Report Sadness, Poor Mental Health

In 2025, 33% of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the previous 12 months, down from 40% in 2023 and 42% in 2021.

The percentage remains slightly higher than a decade earlier, when 30% of students reported persistent sadness or hopelessness in 2015. The CDC classified the measure as improving over the past two years but worsening over the 10-year period.

Poor mental health also declined. Twenty-three percent of students reported poor mental health in 2025, compared with 29% in both 2021 and 2023. The measure was first included in the survey in 2021, so a 10-year trend is not available.

Suicide-Risk Indicators Decline From 2023

The 2025 survey also found declines across several measures of suicide risk. Fourteen percent of high school students reported seriously considering attempting suicide during the previous 12 months, compared with 20% in 2023 and 22% in 2021.

The percentage of students who made a suicide plan declined from 16% in 2023 to 12% in 2025. Six percent reported attempting suicide, down from 9% in 2023.

One percent of students reported being injured in a suicide attempt that required treatment by a doctor or nurse. That measure was 2% in 2023 and 3% in 2015.

Looking across the full 2015–2025 period, the CDC found no significant 10-year change in the percentages of students who seriously considered suicide, made a suicide plan, or attempted suicide. The percentage injured in a suicide attempt requiring medical treatment improved over the decade.

Female Students Report Higher Rates Across All Six Measures

The CDC found differences in mental health and suicide-risk indicators among student groups. Female students were more likely than male students to report all six measures examined.

In 2025, 43% of female students reported persistent sadness or hopelessness, compared with 24% of male students. Poor mental health was reported by 31% of female students and 16% of male students.

Eighteen percent of female students seriously considered attempting suicide, compared with 11% of male students. Fifteen percent of female students made a suicide plan, compared with 10% of male students, while 8% of female students and 5% of male students reported attempting suicide.

The CDC also identified differences by grade. Thirteen percent of ninth graders reported making a suicide plan, compared with 11% of 12th graders. Seven percent of ninth graders reported attempting suicide, compared with 6% of 11th graders and 5% of 12th graders.

CDC Identifies Steps Schools Can Take to Support Student Mental Health

The CDC recommends that schools promote student mental health through education, prevention, and early intervention. Strategies identified in the report include strengthening students' mental health literacy, increasing connections with peers and teachers, teaching coping and problem-solving skills, linking students with mental health services, and training school staff to recognize suicide-risk behaviors and make appropriate referrals.

The report also highlights Fort Worth Independent School District's expansion of school-based behavioral health services during the 2024–2025 school year. Through a partnership with Texas Community Hope, the district established five regional School-Based Behavioral Health Centers.

According to the CDC, the initiative resulted in more than 4,000 referrals for mental health services and direct therapy for more than 1,700 middle and high school students through partnerships with 30 local providers.

About 1 in 3 Students Use Social Media Every Hour or More

The CDC also examined frequent social media use among high school students. In 2025, 36% of high school students reported using social media every hour or more, compared with 37% in 2023. The CDC found no significant change between the two years. Comparable data are not available for a 10-year trend.

Social media use varied by grade. Thirty-three percent of ninth graders reported using social media every hour or more, compared with 36% of 10th and 11th graders and 38% of 12th graders.

Differences were also reported by race and ethnicity. Forty percent of Black students, 39% of Hispanic or Latino students, and 39% of multiracial students reported using social media every hour or more, compared with 33% of White students. The CDC found those differences to be statistically significant.

The findings come as states and school districts are reconsidering how students use both personal and school-issued technology during the school day. Recent policies have addressed classroom screen time and the use of school-issued devices, including limits based on students' ages and grade levels and restrictions on which digital applications students can access.

CDC Highlights LAUSD Screen-Time Policy

The CDC included Los Angeles Unified School District's approach to screen time as a case study in the report. More than 75% of LAUSD high school students reported using social media several times a day, according to district YRBS data cited by the CDC.

The district sought feedback from parents about school screen time and adopted a policy limiting screen use during the school day for K–12 students. Under the policy, in-school screen use is eliminated for students in preschool through first grade, with limits established for older students. LAUSD is also moving away from automatically sending school-issued devices home with every student.

LAUSD also began teaching students about safe and responsible online behavior. The CDC said continued data collection could help the district assess how its policies affect students' digital media use, health, and school experiences.

CDC Recommends Digital and AI Literacy

The CDC said schools can play a role in helping students use technology in safe, healthy, and responsible ways. Recommendations include teaching students how to manage screen time, protect their privacy, recognize potentially harmful online content, and respond to online challenges. The agency also recommends educating students about technology and artificial intelligence and strengthening digital and AI literacy.

Schools can also establish policies aimed at reducing digital distractions during the school day and provide opportunities for students to participate in device-free activities and in-person interactions.

Those recommendations come as school systems respond to digital safety concerns extending beyond screen time. Those challenges include social media and youth mental health litigation, online child exploitation and sextortion, AI-generated explicit images, digital harassment, and student social media posts involving threats, self-harm, or other concerning behavior.