CDC: Severe mental health issues for high schoolers during pandemic

High school students nationwide battled severe mental health issues during the pandemic, including depression, physical and emotional abuse, and suicidal thoughts — with LGBTQ youths most affected, according to a CDC report released Thursday.

The Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, which assessed the well-being of public and private-school high school students from January to June 2021, shined a spotlight on what many mental health professionals, including on Long Island, have been saying since the early days of the pandemic.

For example, the survey found that 37% of students experienced poor mental health during the pandemic; Another 44% felt persistently sad or hopeless in the past year; Nearly 20% seriously considered suicide, and 9% attempted to take their own life.

Another 55% reported experiencing emotional abuse in the home, while 11% described physical abuse by a parent or adult, the survey said. Nearly 30% of high schoolers reported a parent or adult in the home lost a job.

Jeffrey Reynolds, president and chief executive of the Family & Children’s Association in Mineola, said the survey "validates" what he has seen among local youths for the past two years.

In previous years, Reynolds said, he would hear reports of youth hospitalization or attempted suicide every few months. Now, it's a few a week, he said.

"Kids who are going back to school are saying they can't do this," he said. "Some of them have lost so much ground that they're just throwing up their hands and giving up."

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths and female students reported the highest levels of poor mental health, including the highest rates of attempted suicide, the survey found, while Asian, Black and multiracial students experienced elevated amounts of racism during the pandemic.

"Many of the findings are deeply troubling; some with long term consequences," said Jonathan Mermin, director of the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's lead center for monitoring school-based health.

"The nation's youth were experiencing a growing mental health crisis before COVID-19," he said, "and it's worsened during the pandemic."

Kathleen Ethier, director of the CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health, said the closure of many schools and the adoption of remote learning likely exacerbated mental health issues.

"Youth feel more connected in their schools," Ethier said. "They feel safe with peers and adults in school who care about them and have more positive health and well-being."

Mark Secaur, superintendent of the Smithtown Central School District, said he was not surprised by the CDC's findings.

"I’m saddened to see that some groups of children have been more negatively impacted than others and it is important that we stay committed to supporting these students," Secaur said. "I’m also concerned about the lack of access that many students and families experience when they need mental health support."

Long Island educators and mental health professionals said they've implemented programs to increase mental health support for students.

"School districts have increased staff, expanded programs and services, and work to connect families with the mental health services available to them," said Yiendhy Farrelly, president of the Suffolk County School Superintendents Association.

Audre Midura, supervisor of Nassau BOCES' Mental Health Consortium, said it's critical to help students develop the necessary skills to safely cope with the ongoing challenges of the pandemic, while continuing to build stronger relationships inside the home and at school.

"The key to us moving forward out of this is to keep promoting social-emotional learning as a necessary skill," she said. "People need mental health and physical health. It's just as important."

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.