Mental Health - High School Youth
Across San Juan County, on the 2021 YRRS, 41.2% of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year (for every day for two or more weeks): 53.2.6% of girls and 29.1% of boys. Overall, this is statistically similar to New Mexico (44%) and the U.S. (42%).
Felt Sad or Hopeless
Males
Females
Trends Mental Health Indicators - High School Aged Youth
Mental Health Indicators - Comparisons
Among males, the percentage increased from 19% in 2013 to 29% in 2021; among females, from 37% in 2013 to 53% in 2021.
Trends Mental Health Indicators - Middle School Youth
Housing Instability Among High School Youth
A new YRRS question in 2019 found that 7.5% of youth had slept away from home at some point in the past 30 days because they had been "kicked out, ran away, or were abandoned?" In 2021, 4.6% reported having had that experience.
Homelessness Among Youth
Where "usually sleep" is not with
parents or guardians,
past 30 days
Kicked out, Ran away or Abandoned
other than home,
past 30 days
Mental Health - Adults
A question on the CDC telephone survey with adults (the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, or BRFSS) asks, "Now thinking about your mental health, which includes stress, depression, and problems with emotions, for how many days during the past 30 days was your mental health not good?" In general, counties where residents experience a higher number of unhealthy days are likely to have higher unemployment, poverty, and prevalence of disability than counties with fewer unhealthy days.
14 days or more days of poor mental health per month is defined by the CDC to be "frequent mental distress," tending to suggest persistent mental health issues that impact quality of life. Rates are higher for women than men.
In San Juan County, in 2021, 17.6% reported 14 or more poor mental health days in the past month. San Juan County is statistically similar to New Mexico (15%).
Frequent Mental Distress
past month
Males
Females
Mental Health - Race/Ethnicity and Sex
In addition to asking about mental health in the past month, the BRFSS survey also asks respondents to indicate whether they are experiencing a "doctor diagnosed depression." Overall, 17.6% of San Juan County residents reported they had been diagnosed with depression by a medical / health professional.
Women are more likely than men, and Whites are more likely than other races/ethnicities to be diagnosed with depression by a doctor or other healthcare provider.
National Youth Data: National Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) https://yrbs-explorer.services.cdc.gov/#/
Adult data: Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), CDC. Available at NM-IBIS and at https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.html
Also see a recent NM DOH publication: The State of Mental Health in New Mexico
The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) volunteer telephone survey with adults across the U.S. These data area most readily available from New Mexico's Indicator-Based Information System (NM-IBIS). Additional information is available from the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/