US study: one in six teenagers has moderate to severe anxiety symptoms

Around one in six adolescents in the United States reports moderate to severe anxiety symptoms. That is the finding of a study involving the University of Connecticut, published on 12 October in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. They analysed responses from 15,730 adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 20 in the nationally representative 2024 National Survey on Drug Use and Health – the first year the survey asked about anxiety. Using the GAD-7 questionnaire, 9.6 percent had moderate and 7.2 percent severe symptoms, while a further 23.7 percent had mild ones.

Girls were affected considerably more often than boys – 13.4 versus 6.0 percent for moderate symptoms and 10.8 versus 3.7 percent for severe ones. Severe anxiety often came with other burdens: around two thirds had a major depressive episode in the previous year, almost half reported suicidal thoughts and nearly a third had used substances in the previous month. About 41 percent of those with severe and around 48 percent of those with moderate symptoms received no mental health treatment in the past year. Study author Greg Rhee told ABC News that possible barriers include stigma, a shortage of child mental health professionals, and financial and insurance hurdles.

The study's limits: it is a cross-sectional survey based on self-reports – it shows frequencies and associations but not causes, and it does not replace a clinical diagnosis. Why young people did not seek help was not examined, and the reports do not mention funding. The figures apply to the US and cannot be transferred directly to Europe. If you or your child are in crisis: in Germany, the Telefonseelsorge helpline is available around the clock on 0800 111 0 111 and 0800 111 0 222. Children and young people can reach the Nummer gegen Kummer line anonymously and free of charge on 116 111. In Bulgaria, psychologists answer the free National Telephone Line for Children, 116 111, 24/7.