Mental and behavioral health in adolescents is of great concern to policy makers, healthcare providers, and all of those who care about America’s youth. An examination of trends in the last 20 years indicates that while most adolescents are doing well, and trending towards less engagement in risky externalizing behaviors, as age increases, so does potential of engagement in riskier behaviors, and adolescents of different ethnicities do not engage in the same behaviors to the same extent. There has been a decrease in sexual, substance, and overall high risk behaviors, but internalizing patterns are on the rise, particularly for younger females.
