High school students' mental health and suicide measures
Percent of U.S. high school students, CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2018 release (in percent)
Key finding
Highest: Persistent sadness or hopelessness (31.5%). Lowest: Injured in a suicide attempt (2.4%).
- Persistent sadness or hopelessness: 31.5%
- Seriously considered suicide: 17.2%
- Made a suicide plan: 13.6%
Source: Lifeway Research, Research Reveals Troubling Picture of Teenagers and Mental Health · CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey of high school students, recently released. Article published 2018-06-26.
See all 5 categories, the full chart and more
Free account: full chart, CSV and PNG downloads, ready-to-paste citation, branded share image, and a discussion question for your team.
Questions about this statistic
What does this statistic show?
Highest: Persistent sadness or hopelessness (31.5%). Lowest: Injured in a suicide attempt (2.4%). Persistent sadness or hopelessness: 31.5%. Seriously considered suicide: 17.2%. Made a suicide plan: 13.6%.
Who published this data?
Lifeway Research, 2018. Source: Lifeway Research, Research Reveals Troubling Picture of Teenagers and Mental Health (https://research.lifeway.com/2018/06/26/research-reveals-troubling-picture-of-teenagers-and-mental-health/).
Where can I get the full data and a citation?
Create a free Leader Insights account to open the full chart, download CSV or PNG, copy a citation and save the statistic to your own library.
More Mental Health & Well-being statistics
- Gen Alpha teens on feeling worse about themselves after social media Springtide Research Institute, 2026
- Pastors who feel isolated in their personal struggles Lifeway Research, 2026
- Pastors who struggle with consistently resting Lifeway Research, 2026
- How young adults feel about the future Barna Group, 2019
- Pastors' personal connections to opioid abuse Lifeway Research, 2019
- Retired ministers who often feel lonely or isolated Lifeway Research, 2019
All Mental Health & Well-being statistics · All 2018 statistics
About this data
Leader Insights collects statistics about U.S. churches from published research by organizations such as Lifeway Research, Barna Group, Springtide, the American Bible Society and PRRI. Every number is checked against the wording of the original source before it is published, and each statistic links back to the study it came from. Figures are reproduced from the publishers named above; see the source for full methodology.