Mental Health

Torrington's Youth - What's Trending

Sadness & Lonliness

1 in 4 teens reported persistent sadness or hopelessness in the past year.

Suicide

1 in 10 teens reported that they had seriously considered suicide in the past year.

LGTQ+

Rates are significantly higher among females and LGBTQ+ youth.

Data from Youth Voices Survey

Mental Health 1
Mental Health 2

Student Mental Wellbeing:

Anxiety: For grades 6-12, 29.5% of youth reported feelings of anxiety in the past year as occurring almost always (16.3%) and always (13.2%). 30.9% of youth report their feelings of anxiety make things difficult for them in their lives always or almost always.

Sources of Anxiety: For grades 6-8, the most reported sources of stress or worry in their lives are academics, post-high school plans, and peers. For grades 9-12, it was academics, post-high school plans, and schedule. For all grades, social media and financial security ranked as the lowest source of anxiety among the provided choices.

Self-Harm: 18.0% of youth in grades 6-8 reported having thoughts of self-harm and 11.2% report having harmed themselves in the past year. For grades 9-12, 17.3% reported having thoughts of self-harm and 11.2% report having harmed themselves in the past year.

Depression: 22.9% of youth in grades 6-8 and 24.6% of youth in grades 9-12 reported having “felt sad or hopeless for two or more weeks in a row so much it stopped me from doing my usual activities” in the past year.

Suicidal Ideation in the Past Year: 9.7% of youth in grades 6-8 and 10.9% of youth in grades 9-12 reported having considered attempting suicide within the past year.

Comfort Seeking Help: For grades 6-12, the sources youth felt most comfortable seeking help from were parents (61.5%) and friends (54.7%).

Having a Trusted Adult: 89.7% of youth in grades 6-12 agreed with the statement, “I have at least one adult in my life that I can share my thoughts and feelings with.”

Community and School Safety: For grades 6-12, 79.5% of youth agreed with the statement, “I feel safe in my community” and 65.6% agree with the statement, “I feel safe at school.”

Bullying:

Bullying Frequency: 55.1% of youth in grades 6-12 report having been bullied in their lifetime. 7.6% experienced this 1 to 5 days in the past month, 3.0% 6 to 20 days in the past month and 2.9% for 21 days or more in the past month.

Bullying Types: The types of bullying most frequently reported among youth grades 6-12 were mean names or comments, exclusion, and rumors.

Bullying Locations: Bullying most frequently occurs in the hallways, classroom, and at lunch.

THE ADOLESCENT BRAIN IS VULNERABLE

The young brain is still developing, and is extremely sensitive to the effects of addictive substances. Not only are young brains at a greater risk of developing an addiction, an addiction to one substance can further increase the risk of becoming addicted to other substances. World Science Festival published a fantastic clip discussing the ability for nicotine to prime the brain for further addictions.

Trauma & Youth Mental Health

Hundreds of Torrington teens are struggling with mental health issues.

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Torrington Youth - Risk Factors

Some Torrington teens have serious risk factors existent in their lives. In the past year...

Discrimination

23% report having experienced discrimination

Violence

14% report being a victim of violence

Food Insecurity

7% report food insecurity

Social Media Effects

24% felt left out/excluded due to social media

Gaming Problems

29% did not get enough sleep due to gaming

Bullying

14% reported being bullied (in the past 30 days)

 

Social Media Effects

22% felt worse due to social media

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TAPP_logo-small-background

TAPP is a community coalition whose mission is to promote healthy life choices through collaboration, education, support and training. We engage and mobilize youth, parents and community partners to prevent substance misuse, foster emotional health, and maintain a safe and healthy community.

  • 58 High Street, Torrington, CT 06790

  • (959) 799-1445

  • torringtonapp@gmail.com

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