CDC study: 1 in 3 U.S. high school students experience racism, affecting mental health

In 2023, nearly a third of high school students across the U.S. said they'd experienced racism in school, leading to increased mental health challenges, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Source: “1 in 3 U.S. students experience racism at school: It's affecting mental health,” USA Today, Oct. 10).
 
Drawing from data in the Youth Risk Behavior Study, the CDC report found that students of color reported they'd had two to three times more racist experiences than white students. These experiences resulted in students having more mental health issues and a greater risk of suicide and substance use than students who'd never had them. The findings amplify concerns among experts and officials about the youth mental health crisis, particularly with an increasingly nonwhite student population in the U.S.
 
The study found that Asian students were the most likely to experience racism, nearly 57% reported incidents, followed by 49% of multiracial students and almost 46% of Black students. About 39% of Hispanic, 38% of American Indian and Alaska Native, and nearly 38% of Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander students said they experienced racism. Around 17% of white students described similar experiences. Among people of color, female and LGBTQ students were more likely to experience racism than their classmates.