Teen girls experiencing more mental health challenges, study says

(CNN) – Teen girls in the U.S. experienced record levels of violence, sadness and suicide risk in recent years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s bi-annual youth risk behavior survey.

The responses, collected in the fall of 2021, offer the first look at trends since the start of the pandemic.

According to the survey, 57% of teen girls felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, which is double the rate for teen boys.

Nearly a third of teen girls seriously considered attempting suicide.

The CDC said both of those metrics had “increased dramatically” over the past 10 years.

The CDC data published Monday underscores “significant” declines in youth health and well-being overall.

In addition, about one in seven teen girls said they had at some point been forced to have sex, and nearly one in five have experienced sexual violence in the past year.