A sign at Anchorage’s Service High School, seen on Aug. 13, 2024, explains that tobacco use is prohibited at the property. High school students’ use of electronic cigarettes has declined since 2019, one of the positive trends emerging from the latest Alaska Youth Risk Behavior Survey. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska teens are more likely to be depressed and have suicidal thoughts than were teens a decade ago, and some mental health problems have increased notably among girls, according to results from the state’s most recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey .
Administered in 2023 to nearly 1,200 high school students around the state, the survey found numerous negative trends .
Of the respondents, 19% reported attempting suicide at least once over the past year, compared to 8.7% in the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Twenty-three percent said they had considered suicide, compared to 14.5% in 2011. And 43% reported feeling sad or hopeless for such extended periods that they were not able to carry out some of their usual activities, compared to 25.9% who reported feeling that way in the 2011 survey.