Article Breakdown: “What’s missing when we talk about teen mental health? Perspectives from actual teens.” by Associative Press and CVS Health

By Lucy Swearingen

The rise of sadness and loneliness in teen girls post pandemic is startling, and new statistics offer shocking revelations:  According to a press release by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 3 out of 5 U.S teen girls currently experience persistent feelings of loneliness and sadness at double the rate of teenage boys.

These concerning stats beg the question: how can we bring awareness to this crisis? An informative article on this issue is “What’s missing when we talk about teen mental health? Perspectives from actual teens.” by Associative Press for CVS Health. 

Peer support is a focus in this article. Teen’s lived experiences look very different than that of their parents or guardians as many unprecedented factors such as a global pandemic, gun violence, social justice movements as well as everything they’ve lived through being documented on social media affects their experience. Peer support proves to be helpful because teens can relate to those closer to their age because their experiences are more aligned. 

While parents may not relate to the unique struggles teens face today, their ability to listen to these problems proves helpful as well. 

Cara McNulty, President of Behavioral Science and Mental Well-Being at CVS Health, acknowledges peer support as a tool against feelings of isolation in teens. As a parent herself, McNulty sees how teens may relate better with those their own age; however, through her work with CVS Health, McNulty finds other ways to help. In recent years, McNulty and CVShave observed an increase in rates of anxiety and depression among teens, which has inspired a goal to reduce suicide attempts in their Aetna members by 20% by 2025. This goal saw some success in their adolescent population as the number of suicide attempts decreased by 13.5% from 2021-2022.

Some ways CVS Health works to achieve this goal includes providing universal screenings, utilizing data insights to look for warning signs, and increasing resources for adolescents struggling with their mental health. Providing mental health training to primary care providers and partners with a focus in adolescents to issue access to Youth Nominated Support Teams is also part of this initiative. 

Another contributing factor to the rise in depression and anxiety in teens that CVS Health recognizes is social media. The existence of beauty filters on social media platforms can support unrealistic beauty standards for teen girls which ultimately can affect their confidence. In 2018, CVS Health launched the CVS Beauty Mark Commitment as a way to support real girls and foster their confidence. Through this commitment, CVS Health promises to not alter their images used in CVS stores, marketing materials and websites. 

CVS Health’s goals and initiatives help bring awareness to the current climate teens are growing up in as well as the potential challenges these climates can produce. Articles such as this one are also helpful tools to learn about this crisis and ideally solve it.