One of the most disturbing findings was that rates of daily sadness for fifth and sixth grade girls (who are typically 10-11 years old) tripled between 2017 and 2023 and more than doubled for girls in seventh and eighth grades (12-13 years old). For example, in 2017, 12% of fifth grade girls reported “significant” (four days per week) levels of sadness and depression, and by 2023 the number had risen to 35%. Further, in 2017, 5% of fifth graders reported “extreme” levels of sadness and depression (seven days per week); by 2023, the number had tripled to 15%. All the percentages increased with age. Of course, social media and other social and emotional triggers and influences have driven the increases.

This is indeed troubling data for the U.S., but we need to be extra concerned for our girls in Utah, which trends higher in national data. In fact, Utah has the highest rates of depression for women, so it makes sense that Utah’s rates for girls would be higher as well.

Girls are greatly influenced by adverse social factors, which include trauma in their early life. According to one source, this can include “growing up in a harsh or critical family with emotional invalidation, physical abuse, boundary violation or sexual abuse.” And in Utah, we know that 1 in 7 children are sexually abused, and those rates are even higher for girls. The lifelong negative impacts of this abuse are staggering. Unfortunately, these factors lead to greater numbers of young women engaging in self-harm, eating disorders and the like. To me, at least, it feels like girls and young women are feeling more types of “trauma” than ever before.

I recently attended the Utah Early Childhood Mental Health Conference hosted by The Children’s Center Utah, and the keynote was given by Chandra Ghosh Ippen, the associate director of the Child Trauma Research Program at the University of California. She spoke about how traumatic experiences affect children and offered ways that we can restore a sense of safety to children affected by trauma. I was stunned to learn that trauma experienced by babies and toddlers can remain with them for decades. I was comforted to know that there are tools and strategies adults can learn to help restore a sense of safety. I’m not an expert in this area, but fortunately we have many experts at The Children’s Center Utah who provide resources to help children.

The Girls’ Index survey also assessed whether the stress and pressure girls reported was from internal or external sources. About 79% of girls in this study said they were going to “explode” because of the pressure they felt from both sources, and by high school the percentage increased to 83%. The report also stated that about 36% of girls reported that adults in their life put too much pressure on them to be perfect, while 65% said they put a lot of pressure on themselves to be perfect. This “toxic perfectionism” has been studied as a concern in Utah, and it was even mentioned by a prominent leader in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

So, what can we do?

First, we need to learn more about mental health for children and youth, including the resources that are available in our communities, such as The Children’s Center Utah.

Second, we need to provide girls with social, emotional and mental health support, and this should start much younger than we had anticipated.

And, third, we can support public policies that focus on mental health for Utah’s children and youth.

Finally, A Bolder Way Forward provides support for girls and women and offers opportunities for community members to take action, particularly in the areas of health/well-being and safety/security. It is time for us to step forward to be more involved in helpful and positive ways for the future generations of Utahns. We must do something bold to shift Utah so that more girls and young women can thrive.

Susan R. Madsen is the Karen Haight Huntsman Endowed Professor of Leadership in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and the founding director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project.