Melrose Students' Mental Health Battered During Pandemic

MELROSE, MA — The pandemic appears to have taken a toll on the mental health of students, particularly multi-racial, genderqueer and LGBTQ ones, according to the results of a survey administered to local middle and high schoolers.

The results from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey were presented at the Oct. 26 School Committee meeting. The survey, given every two years, was administered to students in grades 6-12. Melrose was part of the survey given to Middlesex League region.

A quarter of all Melrose high and middle school students reported their mental health was not good most of or all the time due to the pandemic, with that number exploding to 82 percent among genderqueer high school students and 57 percent among genderqueer middle school students.

Genderqueer was used in survey results as an umbrella term, and included LBGTQ students.

In the high school, 44 percent of female and 38 percent of multi-racial students reported similar struggles. In the middle school 33 percent of female and 35 percent of multi-racial students did.

Depending on the grade, as many as 21 percent of students seriously considered taking their own life in the last 12 months (middle school students) or ever (high school students.) The same was true of students who wanted to purposely hurt themselves at least once without wanting to die.

Nine percent of high school and 10 percent of middle school students — ever and in the last 12 months, respectively — reported planning how they would commit suicide. That number skyrocketed to 43 percent among genderqueer and LGBTQ middle school students 39 percent among genderqueer and LGBTQ high school students.

Asian middle school students (26 percent) and multi-racial middle school (22 percent) and high school (17 percent) students also reported planning how they would commit suicide.

Seven percent of students reported having attempted suicide, with the most attempts coming in 10th and 11th grade. Attempted suicides were also disproportionately higher among the aforementioned groups, especially genderqueer and LGBTQ students.

The suicide-related numbers are higher this year than the last pre-pandemic survey, in some cases even twice as high.

"One student thinking about harming themselves is one too many," longtime administrator Patricia White-Lambright said.

It's a crisis that isn't specific to Melrose. A 2018 Equity & Equality survey found 48 percent of Massachusetts LGBTQ youth have considered suicide, 37 percent higher than non-LGBTQ youth. Eighty-eight percent of LGBTQ youth of color experienced discrimination, while 65 percent of transgender people experienced discrimination in public spaces.

Seeing and speaking about the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey is a first step. The district will be expanding programs, such as Signs of Suicide, and staff will undergo QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training as another tool.

While most students said they had coping strategies and adults to talk to, there were concerning numbers at the middle school. Only 51 percent of students there reported having one teacher or adult at school to talk to, as opposed to 63 percent of high school students.

Director of Wellness Stephen Fogarty noted many middle school students started the year remotely and returned to masked faces.

"Challenges, for sure," he said. "And we're trying to get over that hurdle and create better relationships. It's been hard. Everything is. What can we do to make it better?"

Students were also dealing with difficult situations outside of class. More than a quarter of students said they lost a family member or close friend from the pandemic, while nearly 10 percent said their family suffered financial problems.

'Validate these youth'

While the survey showed concerning numbers all around, it was hard to miss how disproportionately genderqueer and LGBTQ students have been impacted.

Tony Leone said the pandemic has exacerbated feelings of confusion and loneliness for genderqueer and LGBTQ students everywhere. Leone, the program director at the North Shore Alliance Of LGBTQ Youth (or NAGLY for short,) said they are carrying burdens by themselves.

"The biggest thing we see right now is the isolation period," he told Patch in a phone interview. "They might have been questioning their identity. Questioning their orientation."

Students spent much of the past 18 months learning and even socializing through screens. Kids weren't able to see friends who may have understood their identity.

"I think not having the social aspect throughout the year and a half that people were isolated really devastated youth," Leone said.

The pandemic was part of a three-headed monster that exacerbated students' mental distress. The overall political atmosphere and social media — the latter of which plays a "huge role," Leon said — were particularly damaging during such isolation.

A recent Trevor Project study found that 94 percent of LGBTQ youth said recent politics negatively impacted their mental health.

You don't need to be a therapist to be part of the solution, Leone said.

"Validate these youth," he said. "Validate these kids who are coming to you and questioning X, Y, and Z. A lot of people think they can put a Pride sticker on the outside of their door and say they're all set."

But he said it takes an active commitment to make a difference.

"You want to provide the safety net for that youth," Leone said. "Do your research and learn."

Mike Carraggi can be reached at mike.carraggi@patch.com. Follow him on Twitter @PatchCarraggi and Instagram at Melrose Happening. Subscribe to Melrose Patch for free local news and alerts and like us on Facebook