The 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) shows that many U.S. high school students are still struggling with serious mental health issues—especially girls, LGBTQ+ youth, and students who experience racism or unfair treatment at school. At the same time, there are small signs that some of the very worst indicators (like suicidal thoughts) have stopped getting worse and may be edging down in certain groups.

Big picture: how are teens doing?

  • Around 4 in 10 high school students report persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness.
  • Nearly 1 in 3 say their mental health was poor most of the time or always in the past month.
  • About 1 in 5 seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, and nearly 1 in 10 actually attempted suicide.
  • These numbers confirm that adolescent mental health remains a major public health crisis, not just a minor fluctuation or “normal teen angst.”

In plain terms: in a typical high school classroom, several students are quietly dealing with severe distress, and at least one or two may have seriously considered ending their life in the past year.

Gender and identity gaps

The 2023 YRBS makes clear that mental health burdens are not evenly shared.

  • Girls vs. boys
    • Over half of female students report persistent sadness or hopelessness, compared with roughly a quarter to a third of male students.
* Female students are more likely than male students to report poor mental health, seriously considering suicide, and attempting suicide.
  • LGBTQ+ students
    • LGBTQ+ high school students report extremely high levels of self-harm, suicidal thoughts, and attempts—far higher than their heterosexual, cisgender peers.
* In one state summary, about **43%** of LGBTQ+ students reported self-harm without wanting to die, **27%** made a suicide plan, and **14%** attempted suicide in the past year; among heterosexual cisgender students, those numbers were much lower.
  • Identity questions added in 2023
    • For the first time, the national YRBS asked explicitly about transgender and questioning identities, which helps clarify how mental health risks differ by gender identity and sexual orientation.

These gaps suggest that gender and identity–based stressors (like discrimination, bullying, and social isolation) play a major role in how teens are feeling.

Racism, unfair discipline, and school climate

The 2023 YRBS also adds more detail about how school environments affect mental health.

  • Students who report experiencing racism at school are more likely to report poor mental health, persistent sadness, suicidal thoughts, and substance use.
  • Black students are more likely than White or Hispanic students to say they received unfair discipline at school.
  • Students who report unfair discipline also report:
    • Higher rates of poor mental health.
    • More persistent sadness and hopelessness.
    • More suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
    • More other risky behaviors, like substance use.

In other words, school isn’t just a neutral backdrop; how students are treated—fairly or unfairly—shows up directly in their mental health data.

Trends: worse, the same, or improving?

The 2023 findings sit on top of a decade-plus of rising distress.

  • Compared with about 2013, students are more likely to report:
    • Feeling sad or hopeless.
    • Hurting themselves on purpose.
    • Making a suicide plan.
    • Attempting suicide.
  • However, between 2021 and 2023 , there are hints of stabilization or slight improvements in some of the most severe measures for certain groups:
    • The percentage of students overall reporting persistent sadness or hopelessness dipped slightly (for example, from about 42% to around 40% in one national summary).
* Among female students, reported persistent sadness and serious suicidal consideration declined a few percentage points (e.g., persistent sadness from about 57% to 53%; serious consideration of suicide from about 30% to 27%).

* Some Hispanic students’ indicators (sadness, poor mental health, suicidal thoughts, suicide plans) also show modest decreases.

These changes do not mean the crisis is over; they mean that extremely high rates may be plateauing slightly instead of continuing to skyrocket.

New “firsts” and what they reveal

The 2023 YRBS introduced several new questions that deepen the picture.

  • Social media
    • For the first time, national YRBS data directly tie frequent social media use and online experiences to mental health, highlighting concerns that heavy use or negative online experiences may worsen anxiety, sadness, and self-esteem.
  • Racism in school
    • New items explicitly ask about experiencing racism at school, making clear that these experiences correlate with worse mental health and higher risk behaviors.
  • Unfair discipline
    • Questions about unfair discipline show that students who feel they are punished unjustly are more likely to struggle mentally and to engage in other risky behaviors.
  • Broader representation
    • The survey includes a supplemental sample of American Indian/Alaska Native students and explicit gender-identity questions, helping capture mental health disparities that were often hidden in older data.

These additions shift the conversation from “What’s wrong with teens?” to “What’s happening around them that is harming or protecting their mental health?”

Protective factors and what helps

Alongside risk, the 2023 YRBS also points toward what supports better mental health.

  • Connectedness
    • Feeling close to people at school, having trusted adults, and feeling like you belong are strongly linked to better mental health and lower suicide risk.
  • Supportive, fair schools
    • Schools that reduce discrimination, racism, and unfair discipline may also reduce mental distress and risky behaviors.
  • Affirming environments for LGBTQ+ youth
    • Environments that accept and protect LGBTQ+ students—rather than stigmatize them—are associated with lower rates of self-harm and suicidality, according to analyses of YRBS-type data across states.
  • Family and community support
    • When families and communities talk openly about mental health and connect teens with professional help, outcomes improve; the data highlight that these supports are often unevenly distributed.

A simple example: a student who feels valued in class, has one trusted teacher to talk to, and isn’t targeted by bullying or racism is statistically less likely to report suicidal thoughts—even if they still experience stress and sadness.

TL;DR:
The 2023 YRBS reveals that U.S. high school students are facing a sustained mental health crisis, with very high levels of sadness, poor mental health, and suicide risk—especially among girls, LGBTQ+ youth, and students who experience racism or unfair discipline at school. There are early signs that some of the worst indicators may be leveling off or slightly improving for certain groups, and new questions on social media, racism, and school climate show that the environment around teens is a key part of the problem—and the solution.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.