Twenty-two year study: Adolescents engaged in fewer external risky behaviors but some report increasing mental health concerns

(Press-News.org) 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 wellbeing.

The research was led by Rebekah Levine Coley, a professor and the Gabelli Family Faculty Fellow in the Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology department at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education and Human Development, in collaboration with Jane Leer, an assistant professor of Psychology at San Diego State University’s Department of Psychology, and Lindsay Lanteri, a Ph.D. candidate at the Lynch School.

“Perhaps the most important finding from this work highlights the dominant and increasing prevalence of adolescents with low levels of internalizing behaviors who are also abstaining from multiple types of behavioral health risks,” said Coley, who also directs BC’s Center for Child and Family Policy. “Simultaneously, the relatively modest but increasing number of youth reporting elevated indications of depression points to target populations for prevention and treatment efforts, which is critical information for policymakers and health practitioners seeking to optimize the well-being of U.S. adolescents.”

For an interview with the primary author, contact Rebekah Levine Coley at coleyre@bc.edu (617-552-6018) or Phil Gloudemans, Boston College University Communications at Philip.gloudemans@bc.edu (401-338-6385).

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