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5 Key Facts on Adolescent Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders

Despite some modest improvements, many adolescents reported a major depressive episode or anxiety in the past year, while a smaller share reported a substance use disorder.

This brief analyzes the latest data (2024) from the CDC WONDER mortality database and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health to examine the prevalence of adolescent mental health conditions and substance use, related deaths, and access to behavioral health services.

At the Three-Year Mark, Demand for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline Continues to Grow

The Impact of Gun Violence on Youth Mental Health and Well-Being

Trends in Child and Adolescent Firearm Deaths

Tracking Key Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Actions Under the Trump Administration

Key CDC Data

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  • Addressing Youth Mental Health with Social and Emotional Learning in Schools

    Policy Watch

    Schools can play a role in promoting mental health and connecting youth to treatment. One approach that many schools have implemented is social and emotional learning, which teaches skills such as emotional management, resilience, and relationship building. This policy watch discusses how common these programs are in schools, how they are integrated, and what supporters and critics say about social and emotional learning.

  • 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Two Years After Launch

    Issue Brief

    On July 16, 2022, the federally mandated crisis number, 988, became available to all landline and cell phone users at no charge. Since launch in July 2022, 988 has received 10.8 million calls, texts, and chats. In May 2024, monthly contacts exceeded half a million, up about one-third from a year ago and 80% since May 2022. Despite increased demand for 988 services, national answer rates improved and wait times decreased, though some gains slipped…

  • KFF Analysis Finds That Firearms Were Involved in 79% of Homicides and 55% of Suicide Deaths in 2022

    News Release

    A new KFF analysis finds that firearms are involved in the majority of all homicides and suicides in the U.S., playing a role in 79% of homicides and 55% of suicide deaths in 2022, the most recent data available.The analysis, based on data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, also shows that firearm deaths increased sharply over the decade, from 33,563 deaths in 2012 to 48,204 deaths in 2022. Looked at another…

  • Loneliness and Social Support Networks: Findings from the KFF Survey of Racism, Discrimination and Health 

    Poll Finding

    The issues of loneliness and social isolation gained attention during the COVID-19 pandemic, and continue to be associated with poor mental and physical health conditions. One in six (15%) adults report feeling always or often lonely in the past year, with the highest shares among young adults ages 18-29. There is a strong relationship between feelings of loneliness, local support networks, and physical and mental health and well-being, but Black, Hispanic, and Asian adults are…

  • Black and Hispanic Adults with Fair or Poor Mental Health Are Less Likely Than White Adults to Say They Received Mental Health Services, Reflecting Cost Concerns and Other Barriers to Care

    News Release

    A new KFF analysis of our 2023 Survey of Racism, Discrimination, and Health finds that Black (39%) and Hispanic (36%) adults who report fair or poor mental health are less likely than White (50%) adults to say they received mental health services in the past three years. Such disparities reflect several barriers to mental health care identified by these adults. In addition to cost concerns and being too busy or not being able to get…

  • Utilization of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline’s LGBTQ Service

    Issue Brief

    This analysis examines performance metrics to assess utilization of 988’s LGBTQ service (which SAMHSA refers to as the LGBTQI+ subnetwork), compared to usage of 988’s main service, from December 2023 to March 2024 (the most current and comprehensive data available). It finds high demand for the specialty services but also certain challenges (e.g. higher call abandonment rates and longer call wait times than for the main 988 service).

  • The Mental Health Crisis Within the Mental Health Crisis

    From Drew Altman

    In his new column, KFF CEO Drew Altman discusses how America’s mental health crisis affects families. The number of families experiencing a serious mental health-related event is large enough to constitute a crisis within the larger mental health crisis.

  • Examining New Medicaid Resources to Expand School-Based Behavioral Health Services

    Issue Brief

    In light of worsening mental health among youth, strategies have been implemented to improve access to behavioral health services in recent years, including expanding school-based care for students. Leveraging Medicaid to improve and address gaps in school-based behavioral health services has been a key strategy in recent years as youth mental health concerns have grown. Provisions from the Safer Communities Act of 2022 utilize Medicaid to expand both school-based health care and other mechanisms of…