Adolescents Engaged in Fewer External Risky Behaviors but Some Report Increasing Mental Health Concerns

The following is excerpted from an online article posted by MedicalXpress.

Between 1999–2021, U.S. adolescents steadily desisted from risky behaviors such as substance use and violence, and from reporting a combination of both risky behaviors and mental health symptoms. Yet a comparatively small but growing proportion of youth demonstrated elevated symptoms of depression, according to a report to be published in the April 2025 issue of Pediatrics.

The study, published online on March 18, and titled “Trends in Mental and Behavioral Health Risks in Adolescents: 1999–2021,” analyzed data from the national biennial Youth Risk Behavior Surveys distributed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

A total of 178,658 students in the 9th-12th grades nationwide were analyzed across the entire research timeline. Results revealed that most adolescents—and increasing proportions over cohorts—ceased risky behavior such as substance use, unsafe sexual activities, and violence, and did not display signs of mental health problems such as depression, according to researchers at Boston College and San Diego State University.

However, a small group of adolescents—representing less than nine percent of those surveyed—reported heightened mental health concerns such as increased symptoms of hopelessness and suicidality, and an even smaller proportion reported both heightened risky behavior and mental health problems, necessitating additional public health measures to intervene and promote enhanced well-being.

Source: MedicalXpress
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-03-adolescents-engaged-external-risky-behaviors.html