On February 1 2023, The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia’s Insight Region® Center for Community Research released the Shape of Youth Mental Health report with a presentation and discussion at George Mason University. The report discusses the mental health needs of Northern Virginia's youth, which have only increased since the onset of the pandemic in 2020.
The 2022 Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working conditions shows that one in ten high school students have seriously contemplated suicide in the past year, while one in three have symptoms of recent clinical anxiety. Two other major findings include: Girls, those who identify as LGBTQ+, older students, and Hispanic and Latino students are among those who are experiencing the largest increases in mental health need since the beginning of the pandemic. At the same time, many students do not get enough sleep, a symptom of poor mental health as well as a contributing factor.
View the presentation slides here.
Community Foundation President and CEO Eileen Ellsworth said, "As last year's Shape of Mental Health report showed, early intervention makes a huge difference for someone in crisis. This report is a strong dose of reality about the Mental Health of our teens, a state of affairs that looms large and encompasses far more than the aftershocks of the pandemic."
Download the Report
The Shape of Youth Mental Health
January 31, 2023
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