TABLE 2. Percentage of students with poor mental health, persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and who experienced connectedness,* by demographic characteristics — Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January–June 2021.
| Characteristic | Poor mental health during the pandemic | Poor mental health during the past 30 days | Persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness | Seriously considered attempting suicide | Attempted suicide | Felt close to persons at school | Virtually connected to others during the pandemic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| %† (95% CI) | %† (95% CI) | %† (95% CI) | %† (95% CI) | %† (95% CI) | %† (95% CI) | %† (95% CI) | |
| Sex | |||||||
| Female | 48.9§ (45.6–52.3) | 41.6§ (38.4–44.9) | 56.5§ (53.4–59.5) | 26.0§ (23.4–28.6) | 12.4§ (10.5–14.5) | 40.8§ (36.8–44.8) | 71.8 (69.7–73.8) |
| Male | 24.4 (22.3–26.7) | 19.6 (17.6–21.8) | 31.4 (29.1–33.7) | 13.6 (12.0–15.4) | 5.3 (4.2–6.6) | 53.0 (50.7–55.4) | 71.7 (69.4–74.0) |
| Race and ethnicity | |||||||
| AI/AN, non-Hispanic | 23.3¶,**,†† (15.8–33.0) | 20.5 (9.0–40.2) | 49.5¶¶,*** (42.2–56.9) | 23.3 (15.6–33.5) | 20.1¶,††,¶¶,*** (12.4–30.9) | 50.9*** (39.4–62.3) | 70.6 (46.0–87.1) |
| Asian, non-Hispanic | 33.7 (27.5–40.5) | 29.1 (23.7–35.1) | 40.2** (34.4–46.3) | 15.9†† (12.6–19.9) | 7.4 (4.9–11.0) | 44.3††,*** (38.2–50.6) | 73.4 (67.1–78.9) |
| Black, non-Hispanic | 28.0¶,**,†† (23.3–33.2) | 25.6¶,**,†† (22.0–29.5) | 39.7¶,** (35.9–43.6) | 16.2**,†† (13.0–20.0) | 10.0 (7.7–12.9) | 33.5¶,**,†† (29.1–38.2) | 68.9†† (65.3–72.3) |
| Hispanic or Latino | 36.8 (33.2–40.6) | 31.1 (27.9–34.6) | 46.4 (42.1–50.8) | 19.7 (16.9–22.7) | 8.4 (6.5–10.7) | 41.6**,†† (37.1–46.2) | 67.2 (63.7–70.5)†† |
| Multiracial, non-Hispanic | 40.0 (32.8–47.7) | 32.5 (27.0–38.5) | 51.0 (44.5–57.4)†† | 25.6 (18.1–34.8) | 12.3 (8.0–18.5) | 50.8 (43.8–57.8) | 68.7 (61.6–75.1) |
| NH/OPI, non-Hispanic | —§§ | — | 45.8 (19.2–75.0) | 12.4 (3.3–36.5) | __ | — | — |
| White, non-Hispanic | 40.1 (37.4–42.9) | 32.8 (29.6–36.2) | 43.8 (40.3–47.2) | 21.0 (18.6–23.6) | 8.9 (7.1–11.0) | 52.3 (49.5–55.1) | 75.1 (73.2–76.9) |
| Sexual identity | |||||||
| Heterosexual | 30.3 (27.6–33.2) | 25.5 (22.5–28.8) | 36.7 (34.1–39.4) | 13.6 (11.7–15.8) | 5.2 (4.2–6.5) | 50.1 (47.1–53.1) | 72.7 (70.8–74.5) |
| Gay, lesbian, or bisexual | 63.8††† (58.5–68.8) | 54.9†††,§§§ (49.5–60.2) | 75.7†††,§§§ (70.9–79.9) | 46.8†††,§§§ (41.5–52.2) | 26.3†††,§§§ (21.8–31.4) | 36.8††† (32.2–41.6) | 69.9 (65.1–74.2) |
| Other or questioning | 61.5††† (54.6–67.9) | 45.7††† (40.5–50.9) | 68.7††† (63.6–73.4) | 39.5††† (34.6–44.7) | 16.5††† (11.8–22.7) | 33.6††† (29.1–38.4) | 69.6 (65.6–73.3) |
| Total | 37.1 (34.6–39.6) | 31.1 (28.5–33.7) | 44.2 (41.6–46.8) | 19.9 (18.0–22.0) | 9.0 (7.7–10.5) | 46.6 (44.1–49.2) | 71.8 (70.2–73.3) |
Abbreviations: AI/AN = American Indian or Alaska Native; NH/OPI = Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.
* Refer to Table 1 for variable definitions.
† All percentages are weighted.
§ Significantly different from male students, based on t-test analysis (p<0.05).
¶ Significantly different from Hispanic students, based on t-test analysis (p<0.05).
** Significantly different from non-Hispanic multiracial students, based on t-test analysis (p<0.05).
†† Significantly different from non-Hispanic White students, based on t-test analysis (p<0.05).
§§ Results suppressed because n<30.
¶¶ Significantly different from non-Hispanic Asian students, based on t-test analysis (p<0.05).
*** Significantly different from non-Hispanic Black students, based on t-test analysis (p<0.05).
††† Significantly different from heterosexual students, based on t-test analysis (p<0.05).
§§§ Significantly different from other or questioning students based on t-test analysis (p<0.05).