State of the Georgia Girl Report

Mental Health Conditions

A national dialog on youth mental health emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic as sharp changes in daily norms highlighted – and exacerbated – mental and emotional challenges. Even before that period, the rate at which girls were being diagnosed with mental, emotional, intellectual, or behavioral (MEIB) conditions was already on the rise (Slomski, 2023). Internalized conditions such as anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, and autism spectrum disorder account for the most significant increase in mental and emotional health diagnoses among girls nationwide (Keyes, 2023). In Georgia, 1 in 5 girls ages 3 to 17 are reported as having a mental, emotional, or behavioral health concern according to their parent. The remainder of this section examines how this prevalence appears in the day-to-day lives of Georgia girls – in stress, anxiety, depression, self-harm, and the structures that should support them.

1 in 5 girls ages 3-17 in Georgia are reported as having a mental, emotional, or behavioral health concern.

EMOTIONAL WELLNESS OF GEORGIA GIRLS

U.S. Census, National Survey of Children’s Health, 2022-2023, Indicator 2.10, Georgia.

Chronic stress in adolescence is increasingly recognized as more than a temporary mood ; rather as a biological event with measurable consequences across multiple areas of a girl’s life. The American Academy of Pediatrics has framed prolonged adversity in childhood as “toxic stress” – a term reserved for the kind of chronic stress that, without intervening relationships, predicts long-term risks for disease and mental disorders (Shonkoff, 2012). For girls in particular, stress presents particularly devastating consequences for mental health: internalizing conditions such as depression and anxiety have risen sharply in adolescent girls, with chronic stress serving as the leading mechanism increasing the gender gap (Keyes & Platt, 2023). A significant portion of girls are at risk of assuming these negative outcomes: according to the 2024 Georgia Student Health Survey, 9 out of 10 girls in middle and high school report feeling stressed, and 1 in 3 reports always being in a state of stress – twice the rate of boys.

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THE 2026 STATE OF THE GEORGIA GIRL REPORT