Second Step® Insights
New Insights on High School Student Health and Well-Being
January 15, 2025 | By: The Second Step® Team

Are our teenagers as healthy and happy as they could be? How can schools, families, and communities influence a positive shift?
These crucial questions are the focus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), which presents the most comprehensive, up-to-date data about issues impacting high school students’ health and well-being. Every two years, the CDC conducts surveys to explore a broad range of behaviors, experiences, and conditions that lead to students’ poor health.
Here, we present the 2023 survey highlights and recommendations as well as how programs that teach human skills can aid intervention efforts.
New questions, new insights
The Youth Risk Behavior Surveys, conducted since 1991, include a nationally representative survey and separate school-based surveys carried out by participating states, tribes, territories, and local school districts.
For the first time, the CDC added new questions about adverse childhood experiences, social media use and bullying, experiences of racism at school, and unfair discipline. The surveys also included queries specifically for American Indian and Alaska Native subgroups.
Adverse childhood experiences
About three in four high school students reported experiencing at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE). This self-reported number is higher than previous surveys completed by parents or caregivers.
The CDC defines ACEs as “potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0–17 years) such as experiencing violence, abuse, or neglect; witnessing violence in the home; and having a family member attempt or die by suicide.”
ACEs are associated with a wide range of negative outcomes for students, from substance use and sexual behaviors to poor mental health and suicide risk.
Social media, bullying, and school safety
More than 75% of students reported using social media frequently, which is linked with:
- An increased likelihood of being bullied
- Higher levels of sadness and feelings of hopelessness
- Increased suicide risk among teenagers
The survey data also revealed that over the last few years:
- More students reported being threatened or injured with a weapon at school (from 7% in 2021 to 9% in 2023)
- Bullying increased at school (from 15% to 19%)
- More students missed school due to safety concerns, either on campus or on the way to school (from 9% to 13%)
Racism at school
For the first time, students reported on their experiences with racism. The YRBS revealed:
- One in three high school students experienced racism at school
- For students from marginalized racial and ethnic groups, experiencing racism was 2 to 3 times more prevalent compared to White students
- 56.9% of Asian students reported experiencing racism in school, along with 48.8% of multiracial students and 45.9% of Black or African American students
- Students who experienced racism reported higher rates of substance use, poor mental health, and suicide risk
American Indian and Alaska Native representation
The 2023 YRBS included a supplemental survey specifically focusing on American Indian and Alaska Native high school students.
The outcomes revealed the importance of incorporating Indigenous history and knowledge when designing successful interventions to improve the health and well-being of American Indian or Alaska Native students.
Unfair discipline
Nearly 20% of students reported unfair discipline during the previous year. Out of these students, there was a higher prevalence among Black students than White students.
The survey results revealed an association between reports of unfair discipline and reports of health risk behaviors and experiences—such as skipping school because of feeling unsafe, carrying a weapon to school, and considering or attempting suicide.
The CDC recommends considering “systems-level changes to policies and practices in schools, such as assessing discipline practices that contribute to unfair treatment, supporting positive identity development, and ensuring access to mental health-related resources.”
Mental health and protective factors
The YRBS spotlighted some positive shifts in mental health. Fewer students overall reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness—from 42% of students in 2021 to 40% in 2023.
The report also identified key factors associated with lowering mental health and suicide risk indicators:
- Being physically active for at least 60 minutes a day, five days a week
- Getting at least eight hours of sleep
- Having a household adult who always tries to meet kids’ basic needs
- High parental monitoring
- Playing on one or more sports teams
- High levels of school connectedness
The power of school connectedness
The latest YRBS survey data validates existing CDC recommendations that improving school connectedness can reduce behavioral risks and improve mental health and well-being.
Recommendations
The CDC recommends building school connectedness. School administrators are encouraged to:
- Provide professional development on classroom management and inclusivity
- Focus on building positive relationships between students, families, and school communities
- Support student-led inclusive clubs
- Enforce anti-harassment policies
Human skills development as part of the solution
Universal programs that teach social and emotional skills are shown to improve school connectedness and students’ sense of belonging.
Second Step® High School is designed to help educators create a culture where all students build connections, confidence, resilience, and other life skills they need to thrive in the classroom and beyond.
Second Step® SEL for Adults provides complementary educator learning and professional development designed to aid in teacher-student relationship building, which can foster school connectedness.