Report Highlights U.S. Teens’ Perceived Social and Emotional Support

For Immediate Release: July 16, 2024

Contact: CDC, National Center for Health Statistics, Office of Communication (301) 458-4800
E-mail: paoquery@cdc.gov

Teens were less likely than their parents to report receiving the social and emotional support the teen needed. A majority of parents (76.9%) reported their teen always received the social and emotional support they needed. Only 27.5% of teens perceived the same.

These findings are included in a report by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. The report “Perceived Social and Emotional Support Among Teenagers: United States, July 2021 – December 2022” examines health and well-being outcomes based on varying support levels, comparing teen and parent-reported social and emotional support across different teen and family characteristics.

Other findings documented in the report: 

• Approximately 3 in 5 teens (58.5%) always or usually received the social and emotional support they needed.
• Teen boys (64.8%) were more likely than girls (52.0%) to have always or usually received
  support.
• Black (42.3%) and Hispanic (49.6%) teens were less likely to have always or usually received social and emotional support—compared with White teens (66.3%).
• LGBTQ+ teens (43.9%) were less likely to have always or usually received support compared to teens who were not LGBTQ+ (63.5%).
• Teens living in families with lower income and less parent education were less likely to have always or usually received social and emotional support.

The report will be available on the NCHS web site at  www.cdc.gov/nchs.