• Posted July 22, 2025

Few Schools Screen Students For Depression, Anxiety

Fewer than one-third of American public schools are screening students for psychological problems, years after the U.S. Surgeon General declared a mental health crisis among the nation’s youth.

In 2021, then-U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy warned that social media, the COVID-19 pandemic, bullying, lack of safety and a number of other factors were driving an increase in depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts among the nation’s youth.

But by late 2024, just under 31% of principals surveyed said their school conducts screening for mental health issues, researchers report in JAMA Network Open.

Further, about 40% said it was difficult to ensure that students receive appropriate care if kids do speak up about feelings of anxiety or depression, results show.

“Our results suggest that there are multiple barriers to mental health screening in schools, including a lack of resources and knowledge of screening mechanics, as well as concerns about increased workload of identifying students,” lead researcher Jonathan Cantor said in a news release. Cantor is a policy researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

For the study, researchers surveyed 1,019 principals who participate in the RAND American School Leader panel, a nationally representative sample of K-12 public school principals. The survey took place in October 2024.

Of the schools that require mental health screenings, nearly 80% said parents are typically notified if their child is positive for depression or anxiety, researchers found.

More than 70% of principals also reported that their school offers in-person treatment for students with mental health problems, and 53% said they might refer a student to a therapist in the community.

Schools were 33% more likely to screen for mental health if they had 450 or more students or if their students mostly came from racial or ethnic minority groups, the survey said.

“Policies that promote federal and state funding for school mental health, reimbursement for school-based mental health screening, and adequate school mental health staff ratios may increase screening rates and increase the likelihood of successfully connecting the student to treatment,” Cantor said.

More information

The U.S. Surgeon General’s Office has more on protecting youth mental health.

SOURCE: RAND, news release, July 18, 2025