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New Navigate 360/Zogby Strategies Poll
Teens are heading back to school and a new poll reveals greater levels of anxiety are severely impacting mental health and causing disruption to their normal lives. A poll in a more than yearlong series by Navigate 360 and John Zogby Strategies, shows that almost three in five (58%) “personally know someone who has considered self-harm or suicide”, the highest percentage yet in the joint project. This is up nine points from the August 2021 survey in this series.
This new poll underscores numerous scholarly studies and articles about higher levels of stress and increased mental health concerns among American teens, including a national emergency declaration by the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Children’s Hospital Association and a youth mental health advisory from the U.S. Surgeon General.
The poll also shows teen’s awareness of these factors and desire for tools and resources to help reverse these concerning mental health trends. As noted below, the majority of teens surveyed would welcome help managing stress and anxiety, as well as their social-emotional well-being.
The new Navigate 360/Zogby Strategies survey also shows:
—54% are “aware of someone who has been bullied because of their race, sexual orientation, or income level”
—58% are “very concerned” or “somewhat concerned” about their own “mental health” and equally their own “emotional health”
—39% disagree that their “mental health needs are being met at school”
—33% disagree that “mental health needs are being met at home”
—55% (up from 50% in August 2021) would “want part of the curriculum to be spent learning about working on my social/emotional well-being”
—57% would want “short courses to help manage stress and anxiety”
—55% would want “training centered on preparation for how to deal with an on-campus assailant or threat”.
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