According to the Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey, teens in the state continue to face significant mental health issues, with girls and LGBTQ+ youth at highest risk for depression, anxiety and self-harm.
The 2023 report surveyed 1,888 students in grades 9-12 at 42 public, charter and alternative high schools last spring.
More than half of the students, 51.6%, reported experiencing anxiety. One in three students reported experiencing depression nearly every day for more than two consecutive weeks, and one in five students reported engaging in non-suicidal self-harm.
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Women and LGBTQ+ students reported a disproportionate number of challenges.
Girls were twice as likely as boys to have self-harmed, with 67% of girls reporting experiencing anxiety and 45% reporting depression.
The findings were announced at a news conference in Madison on Tuesday.
“Our girls are struggling,” said Amy Marsman, a senior research analyst at the Wisconsin Department of Children’s Mental Health, “and our LGBT students are reporting anxiety and depression at alarmingly high rates.”
Of the LGBTQ+ students surveyed, 79% said they had experienced anxiety, 63% had experienced depression, and 40% had thought about suicide.
The survey also gave students the opportunity to answer open-ended questions anonymously.
One student wrote, “It’s really hard being transgender and gay in this state. I always feel uncomfortable and unsafe here. At school, in the store, on the street, I always feel like I’m being judged or, worse, hurt.”
State agencies including the state Department of Education, the Department of Children’s Mental Health and the Department of Health Services are using population-level data to gauge Wisconsin youth’s feelings, especially post-COVID.
The survey has been conducted every two years since 1993.
State Superintendent of Education Jill Underly said adults need to do more to support children.
“We need to listen to their thoughts, feelings and concerns and let them know they can trust you and that they and their mental health comes first,” Underly said. “Not only can we do better, we have to do better — and we have the knowledge and resources to do it.”
One indicator that is closely tied to mental health is a sense of belonging. Overall, 54 percent of students agree or strongly agree that they feel a sense of belonging at school. However, this number has been declining steadily since reaching a peak of 71 percent in 2017.
The report found that students who report a strong sense of support and belonging are generally less likely to engage in risky behaviors, such as alcohol or drug use, risky sexual practices or physical fights.
The survey found roughly equal numbers of students drinking alcohol and using marijuana, about 26 percent and 28 percent, respectively.
While only 3% of students reported smoking cigarettes, 34% reported using an e-cigarette at least once.
Another student commented that Gen Z is struggling: “We are fast becoming the most depressed, zombie-like generation… The technology you have built has given us more self-loathing, unattainable expectations, new mental illnesses, and destroyed our sense of communication… We are trying our best to find ourselves, but understand that it is difficult when the world we look up to is cruel, and we feel like we have to go through it alone.”
If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. You can also text HOPELINE to 741741 to access the free and confidential Crisis Text Line.
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