We were saddened to see the data in the report of the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey that shows that all youth are struggling with threats to their health and well-being and that many of these trends have worsened over the last decade. The report reveals stark rates of mental health challenges for certain groups of students in particular: girls and those who identify as non-heterosexual.

We have seen similar trends in our surveys of more than 250,000 students over the past decade. While we don’t ask questions about sexual orientation in our survey, we do cover gender identity and dig into the causes of stress for students. We are particularly concerned about the higher rates of poor mental health and stress-related health symptoms for girls and students who identify as non-binary, transgender, or genderqueer / gender non-conforming.

Our data shows a notable difference in the experience of students in these two groups this school year. Students who identify in this way are more likely than boys to report stress-related health symptoms, missing school for a physical or emotional health problem, and that mental health issues are a source of stress.

Do you want to find out how students in your school are doing? Work with us to gather real data about sleep, stress, academic engagement, and more. Our powerful analytics allow school leaders to disaggregate data by identity markers such as race, gender, and gender identity.

Go beyond the data with our expert research and program teams to analyze your results and take steps to improve student well-being, engagement, and belonging in your school, especially for historically marginalized student populations.