The State of Child and Teen Mental Health

{Free 988 Mental Health posters towards bottom.}

Children Are Carrying More Than We Often Recognize

Across the United States, current mental health data among children and adolescents are both significant and concerning.

Suicide is now among the leading causes of death for youth and is currently the second leading cause of death among individuals ages 10–14 and 15–24. Recent findings indicate that approximately 9.5% of high school students reported attempting suicide in 2023, while nearly 20% reported seriously considering suicide. Rates are disproportionately elevated among female students and LGBTQ+ youth. In younger populations, suicide rates among preteens ages 8–12 have also shown a measurable annual increase.

Although overall suicide rates remain higher among adults, the rate of increase among children and adolescents warrants substantial clinical, educational, and public health attention.

Importantly, these statistics represent more than epidemiological trends. They reflect the lived experiences of children in classrooms, homes, healthcare settings, and communities—many of whom may lack the developmental language or emotional insight necessary to directly communicate psychological distress.

Understanding Behavioral Communication in Children

Children do not always verbalize emotional distress explicitly. More often, distress is communicated indirectly through behavior, emotional reactivity, withdrawal, irritability, changes in functioning, or dysregulation.

When viewed through a developmental and trauma-informed framework, behavior can be understood not simply as misconduct or opposition, but as communication. This perspective shifts the focus from punitive or reactive responses toward curiosity, attunement, and intervention grounded in developmental understanding.

A clinically important question emerges:

“What is this child attempting to communicate through their behavior?”

This question is foundational to trauma-informed and developmentally responsive care across clinical, educational, and caregiving environments.

The Protective Role of Attuned Adults

Research consistently demonstrates that children regulate emotional experiences within the context of relationships. The presence of a calm, responsive, and emotionally attuned adult is therefore one of the most significant protective factors in a child’s life.

For clinicians, this may involve maintaining therapeutic presence and emotional containment even when progress is not immediately observable.

For educators, it may involve creating learning environments in which emotional safety is prioritized alongside academic engagement.

For caregivers, it may involve recognizing that dysregulation is frequently an expression of overwhelm rather than intentional defiance.

These relational shifts are not merely philosophical; they are evidence-based protective factors associated with improved emotional regulation, resilience, and help-seeking behaviors.

When Additional Support Is Needed

Even in the presence of supportive and attuned adults, there are times when a child or adolescent requires support beyond what can be immediately provided within their environment.

In these moments, access to clear, accessible, and developmentally appropriate crisis resources becomes critically important.

One such resource is the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which is available to both adolescents and children. Youth may contact 988 by phone, text, or online chat to receive immediate emotional support and crisis intervention services.

Importantly, individuals do not need to be in imminent danger to utilize 988. The service is intended for anyone experiencing emotional distress, crisis, or difficulty coping.

The Importance of Providing Crisis Resource Education to Youth

Some adults express concern that discussing crisis resources with children may inadvertently increase risk or expose youth to concepts they are not developmentally prepared to process. Current evidence does not support this concern.

Research consistently indicates that providing children and adolescents with developmentally appropriate information about mental health support and crisis intervention does not increase suicidal ideation or suicidal behavior. Rather, such education serves as a protective factor by promoting help-seeking behaviors, reducing perceived isolation, and reinforcing the availability of support.

When introduced in a calm, non-alarmist, and developmentally responsive manner, crisis resources such as 988 become part of a broader framework of emotional safety and support. For younger children, these conversations are often most effective when paired with encouragement to seek assistance from trusted adults while also reinforcing that additional safe supports are always available.

Avoiding discussions about mental health crises does not eliminate risk. However, failing to provide children with clear pathways to support may leave them without essential resources during periods of emotional distress.

Making 988 Developmentally Accessible

Introducing children to 988 is not intended to create fear or alarm. Rather, it is intended to increase access to support and reinforce the message that they do not have to manage overwhelming emotions in isolation.

When explained using developmentally appropriate language, 988 can function as:

• a safety resource

• a point of connection

• a reminder that support is available

One developmentally appropriate introduction may sound like:

“If your feelings ever become too overwhelming and you do not know who to talk to, you can call or text 988. A trained person will listen and help you stay safe.”

A Tool You Can Use Right Away

Click image above to find the printables.

To support these conversations, we created a free, child-friendly 988 printable.

It is designed to:
• normalize big feelings
• explain 988 in simple language
• visually guide children and teens toward support
• be used in therapy sessions, classrooms, or at home

You can download it here:
FIND THE PRINTABLES BY CLICKING HERE

Final Reflection

Children do not need us to have all the answers.

They need us to notice… to stay… and to respond with steadiness.

And they need to know that support exists beyond us.

When feelings get too big, what matters most is this:

Help is available.
Connection is possible.
And they are never alone.

References

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Web-based injury statistics query and reporting system (WISQARS): Fatal injury reports. https://wisqars.cdc.gov

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Youth risk behavior survey data summary and trends report: 2013–2023. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cdc.gov/yrbs

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024). Suicide data and statistics. https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/suicide-data-statistics.html

Dazzi, T., Gribble, R., Wessely, S., & Fear, N. T. (2014). Does asking about suicide and related behaviours induce suicidal ideation? What is the evidence? Psychological Medicine, 44(16), 3361–3363. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291714001299

Ivey-Stephenson, A. Z., Demissie, Z., Crosby, A. E., et al. (2020). Suicidal ideation and behaviors among high school students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2019. MMWR Supplements, 69(1), 47–55. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su6901a6

Johns, M. M., Lowry, R., Haderxhanaj, L. T., et al. (2023). Trends in violence victimization and suicide risk by sexual identity among high school students — Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2015–2021. MMWR Supplements, 72(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.su7201a1

National Institute of Mental Health. (2024). Suicide statistics. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide

Plemmons, G., Hall, M., Doupnik, S., et al. (2021). Hospitalization for suicide ideation or attempt: 2008–2015. Pediatrics, 147(2), e2020034448. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-034448

Ruch, D. A., Sheftall, A. H., Schlagbaum, P., et al. (2021). Trends in suicide among youth aged 10 to 14 years in the United States, 1999–2018. JAMA Network Open, 4(5), e2113513. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.13513

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2023). National strategy for suicide prevention update. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Trevor Project. (2024). 2024 national survey on LGBTQ youth mental health. https://www.thetrevorproject.org