Vermont survey: Student mental health is ‘not good’
The Youth Risk Behavior Survey shows middle and high school students in Vermont reporting self-harm and making suicide plans at the same rates as during COVID-19.
The Department of Health survey also indicated that a third of high school students feel they struggle with poor mental health.
Students from 57 high schools and 106 Vermont middle schools were asked questions about a variety of topics including bullying, mental health, alcohol and substance use, and more.
In a press release, Kelly Dougherty, the health department’s deputy commissioner, said, “In line with national trends, we are seeing young people in Vermont grappling with persistent feelings of hopelessness and isolation in a much more pronounced way than was the case among the same groups 10 years ago.”
Some of the key results show 23% of high school students and 21% of middle school students reporting self-harm in the past year. Self-harm is defined by the department as “cutting or burning themselves on purpose without wanting to die.”
Female and LGBTQ+ respondents reported significantly higher rates of self-harm. Females were more than two times as likely as males to hurt themselves on purpose and LGBTQ+ individuals were more than three times as likely as their peers.
Referring to stress, anxiety, and depression, 34% percent of high school students reported experiencing mental health that was “not good” most or all of the time, with results significantly higher for female and LGBTQ+ populations.
Thirty-six percent of students feel “nervous, anxious, and on edge,” always or most of the time. Thiry-seven percent of respondents said they never or rarely get the mental health support they need and 25% saying they get help most of the time.
In other findings:
• Nearly half (47%) of middle school students said they had been bullied at school and 30% reported electronic bullying, while 21% of high school students said they had been bullied.
• At both grade levels, female and LGBTQ+ students were more likely to be bullied. Black, Indigenous, or people of color also said they were bullied online, although high school students reported being bullied more in person.
• -During the past year, one in seven high school students (14%) said they made a plan about how they would kill themselves. Female, younger, LGBTQ+ BIPOC, and special needs students were more likely to report such a plan.
• Seven percent of middle school youngsters said they had tried to kill themselves. Attempted suicides increased by grade level.
• Thirty-seven respondents report using electronic vapor products every day and 20% say they use them on three to nine days per month.
• Almost three in 10 high school kids said they drank alcohol in the past month with one in eight students reporting binge drinking.
• About a third of students smoke marijuana once or twice per month while a quarter smoke it three to nine times.
Every two years, the Department of Health collects student responses for the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, typically during the spring semester. The Vermont Agency of Education and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are partners in the initiative.