Alarming Health Trends for Queer and Female Youth (YRBS Report part 1)
I hate clickbait headlines, so I was very skeptical when I first read the barrage of headlines about the new CDC youth health behavior report. After all, the data couldn’t really be that bad, right? Wrong. Very wrong. The survey, which asks high school students questions about violence, mental health, substance use, and sex, was given in 2021. This report presents high level results from that survey as well as trends over the past 10 years. While some of the information is promising, the report highlights distressing information about certain groups, including students of color, female students, and LGBQ+ students.
First, some background. The report is based on data from the 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which the CDC gives to a national, representative sample of U.S. high school students every two years. Importantly, this is the first YRBS report since 2019 and it gives major insights on youth behavior in the post-pandemic world. The report is based on descriptive statistics, which can only describe what is happening - they can’t tell us why anything happens. But descriptive statistics are important because they help us form snapshot of what is currently happening as well as look at trends over time. Researchers then use this information as the starting point to figure out the why.
The report contains more information than I can write about in one post. Since most of my work focuses on abuse prevention and LGBTQ+ youth inclusion, I’m going to focus on those topics. In upcoming posts, I’ll go into more depth on each topic and share my ideas on how we can use the data to help youth in our communities.
Part 1: Alarming Health Trends for Queer and Female Youth (this post)
Part 2: Queer Youth are Struggling
Note: In this report, the CDC breaks down results by sexual identity, but does not include transgender or nonbinary students in the gender identity breakdown. This is why the CDC uses “LGBQ+” (where the “T” that refers to “transgender” is missing). The CDC has stated that future surveys will include more response options for gender identity to allow for that analysis.
Key Findings
I had two big takeaways from the report.
Almost all indicators of mental health worsened for all groups between 2011 and 2021.
Certain groups, particularly female students, LGBQ+ students, and students of color, are struggling more than others in all areas surveyed.
I created the following infographics to summarize several major findings and trends. Based on this information, you can see that the other headlines aren’t just clickbait at all. That’s why my choice of the word “alarming” in this post’s title is intentional and justified.
Image description: Violence Infographic. LGBQ+ and Female Students’ Experiences of Bullying and Sexual Violence. Results from the CDC’s 2021 YRBS Survey.
18% of female students and 22% of LGBQ+ students experienced sexual violence in the past year.
14% of female students and 20% of LGBQ+ students have ever been forced to have sex.
Female and LGBQ+ students were more likely to experience all forms of bullying.
17% of female students were bullied at school and 20% were electronically bullied.
23% of LGBQ+ students were bullied at school and 27% were electronically bullied.
Rates of sexual violence have increased over time for female, but not male, students.
LGBQ+ and female students were more likely than their peers to experience bullying and sexual violence.
Infographic design copyright Seven Two Consulting. Reference: CDC. (2023). Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Data Summary and Trends Report: 2011-2021. Atlanta, GA: CDC.
Image description: Mental Health Infographic. LGBQ+ and Female Students’ Mental Health Behaviors. Results from the CDC’s 2021 YRBS Survey.
Persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness during the last year: 42% of all students, 57% of female students, and 69% of LBGQ+ students.
Poor mental health in the last 30 days: 29% of all students, 41% of female students, and 52% of LGBQ+ students.
Attempted suicide during the last year: 10% of all students, 13% of female students, and 22% of LGBQ+ students.
Indicators of mental health worsened across all groups between 2011 and 2021.
Female students were more likely than male students to experience each indicator of poor mental health.
Infographic design copyright Seven Two Consulting. Reference: CDC. (2023). Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Data Summary and Trends Report: 2011-2021. Atlanta, GA: CDC.
Image description: School Connectedness Infographic. LGBQ+ and Female Students’ School Connectedness Feelings. Results from the CDC’s 2021 YRBS Survey.
School connectedness is a major protective factor. Protective factors are behaviors, relationships, and conditions that help strengthen youth and lessen the harmful effects of negative experiences.
Unfortunately, female students, LGBQ+ students, and students of color were least likely to feel connected at school.
These students are generally also more likely to be at risk for harmful experiences. This means that students who most need the protective factor of school connectedness are the least likely to have it.
Infographic design copyright Seven Two Consulting. Reference: CDC. (2023). Youth Risk Behavior Survey: Data Summary and Trends Report: 2011-2021. Atlanta, GA: CDC.
