Notes on student mental health
The department last year surveyed nearly 24,500 seventh through 12th graders in 17 Dane County public school districts, including Madison, Sun Prairie and Middleton-Cross Plains. Students participate every three years in the Dane County Youth Assessment, which measures their mental, physical and behavioral well-being.
Anxiety and depression rates have risen steadily among student respondents since 2009, according to an analysis of the results. But indicators of mental health challenges dropped last year to 2015 levels, the Department of Human Services reported.
Still, about 60% of high schoolers said they felt lonely “sometimes” or “always.”
