More girls than boys reported being cyber-bullied, according to the C.D.C. report, which found one in five girls said they had been the target of electronic bullying, almost double the 11 percent of boys.
Dr. Fornari added that the number of adolescents coming to the emergency room at Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New Hyde Park, where he practices, for suicidal thoughts or attempts has increased dramatically in recent decades. In 1982, there were 250 emergency room visits by suicidal adolescents. By 2010, the number had increased to 3,000. By 2022, it was 8,000.
“We don’t have enough therapists to care for all these kids,” Dr. Fornari said.
The C.D.C.’s report also noted, however, that the number of adolescents who reported needing medical attention for a serious suicide attempt had been fairly low and stable, hovering around 2 or 3 percent, since 2011.
“Lots of people think about taking their life. Most of them will not act on it,” said Dr. Jill Harkavy-Friedman, senior vice president of research of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. “We don’t want to panic people with this. We want people to start having these conversations, checking in, and then making a plan to help each other.”
The C.D.C. survey follows another bleak report released by the agency last week showing that suicide rates were up among younger Americans and people of color after a two-year decline.
The C.D.C. report stressed that healthy relationships at school can improve adolescents’ mental health.
“Young people who feel connected in middle school and high school 20 years later have better mental health, are less likely to be perpetrators or victims of violence, are less likely to use substances and are less likely to attempt suicide,” Dr. Ethier said. “So school connectedness is a very powerful protective factor.”
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