Youth mental health has improved since the COVID-19 pandemic, when anxiety and depression spiked for teens, according to the results of a statewide survey.
The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services recently released the results of its 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The anonymous and voluntary survey helps measure health-related behaviors among New Hampshire high school students. More than 70 high schools across the state participated.
The results include a drop in students experiencing persistent sadness or hopelessness from 44.2% in 2021 to 34.2% in 2025.
Almost a quarter of students surveyed in 2021 reported that they seriously considered suicide within the past year. In 2025, that percentage dropped to 15.9%.
“We continue to be encouraged by the incoming data on youth mental health,” DHHS Commissioner Lori Weaver said in a statement. “New Hampshire teens are telling us directly that they’re feeling more supported, more hopeful, and more connected.”
The results from the survey, which were released before the start of the school year, are separated by male and female categories. While the rates of students experiencing negative mental health issues has dropped, there is still a gender disparity.
In answering whether or not they felt sad and hopeless every day for at least two weeks in a row, 44.5% of female students said yes compared to 24.4% of male students. While this is an improvement from 2021, when 57.5% of female students and 30.7% of male students answered yes, the numbers have not yet dropped to pre-pandemic levels.
In almost all categories under suicide, sadness and helplessness in the survey, female students answered ‘yes’ at a higher rate than their male counterparts.
For full results, visit www.dhhs.nh.gov/programs-services/population-health/health-statistics-informatics/youth-risk-behavior-survey
