Research & Resources

From January to June 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES), an online survey of a probability-based, nationally representative sample of 7,705 U.S. public- and private-school students in grades 9–12. ABES data were used to estimate the prevalence of disruptions and adverse experiences during the pandemic, including parental and personal job loss, homelessness, hunger, emotional or physical abuse by a parent or other adult at home, receipt of telemedicine, and difficulty completing schoolwork. Since the pandemic began, more than half of students (66 percent) found it more difficult to complete their schoolwork and 55 percent experienced emotional abuse by a parent or other adult in their home. Prevalence of emotional or physical abuse by a parent or other adult in the home was highest among students who identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual (74 percent reporting emotional abuse and 20 percent reporting physical abuse) and those who identified as other or questioning (76 percent reporting emotional abuse and 13 percent reporting physical abuse), compared with students who identified as heterosexual (50 percent reporting emotional abuse and 10 percent reporting physical abuse). Disparities by sex and by race and ethnicity also were noted. The researchers suggested that the findings can inform public health and health care professionals, communities, schools, families, and adolescents and can be used to better understand how students’ lives have been affected during the pandemic and what challenges need to be addressed to promote adolescent health and well-being during and after the pandemic.

This paper, “Disruptions to school and home life among high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic—Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January–June 2021,” was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and published in the journal MMWR