Insights from the largest data set on kids and teens.
Each year, Boys & Girls Clubs of America surveys Club kids and teens across the nation. Youth Right Now features survey results from more than 100,000 Boys & Girls Club members, ages 9-18, across more than 3,000 Clubs scattered across the United States – to our knowledge, the nation's largest data set in the youth-serving sector.
Here’s how kids and teens are feeling about their mental health, their safety, their potential in the workforce and more, as well as how communities, families, government, partners, schools and out-of-school providers can support young people in achieving great futures.
A Message from President & CEO Jim Clark. Read more →
Youth right now need supporters and champions like you. Get involved with Boys & Girls Clubs of America:
The pandemic exacerbated youth mental health trends – here is what parents and caregivers can do to support kids and teens in managing stress, anxiety and depression. Read more →
With the pandemic exacerbating a decade-long rise in youth mental health concerns, it’s more important than ever that young people have safe, nonjudgmental adults they feel comfortable approaching about tough topics.
Today’s youth have strong social-emotional awareness. They are able to recognize the emotions they are feeling (90%), as well as understand how their feelings influence their actions (90%).
While every generation has its obstacles, the past few years have been incredibly difficult as kids and teens faced school closings, social isolation, missed milestones and more. How are kids coping? Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s data shows that the majority of youth (70%) rate their ability to cope with challenges as medium to very low, versus the 30% that rated their coping abilities as high to very high.
Kids are feeling stressed, with 71% saying when something important goes wrong in their life, they can’t stop worrying about it. And when something does go wrong, they try to keep people from finding out (67%).
2022 Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Youth Outcomes Initiative Member Survey.
They’re confident in themselves and their capabilities, but in a post-pandemic and 24/7 online world, kids and teens may need to build essential soft skills like collaboration and conflict resolution.
The majority of youth feel they have strong leadership, integrity and a drive to pursue their goals. They’re busy – tackling school, part-time jobs and internships. At Clubs, about half of high school-aged youth with work experience say they secured the opportunity through their Club.
Young people are also becoming well-versed in a society that has a renewed focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, with 94% of youth saying they’re able to work with people who are different than them.
After the on-and-off social isolation of the pandemic, as well as the ubiquitous presence of social media, young people are struggling with soft skills like collaboration and teamwork.
Roughly half of kids and teens’ (46%) conflict resolution skills need improvement, and about a third could improve their teamwork. This will be a challenge for youth and employers alike, as McKinsey & Company reports more than half of U.S. employers say the biggest obstacle to growth is the lack of qualified candidates with soft skills.
2022 Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Youth Outcomes Initiative Member Survey
Employers are seeking employees with soft skills like never before. The Coca-Cola Company’s human resources leader and Boys & Girls Clubs of America share the most important soft skills to have and how to start building them in the workplace and beyond. Read more →
With young people spending more time online than ever before, it is important to establish internet safety with the young people in your life, as well as be able to recognize the warning signs of online safety risks. Read more →
Data shows youth are less likely to report safety incidences like cyberbullying compared to in-person bullying. As kids live increasingly online lives, internet safety skills and having a trusted adult to turn to are critical.
The majority of youth (88%) feel they can stand up for what they think is right, even if their friends disagree. And 94% of youth try to help when they see people in need.
Kids’ lives are fractured between school, out-of-school time and their online activity, and having a place where they feel they belong can be key to emotional and physical safety. 85% of Boys & Girls Club teens reported feeling a sense of belonging at their Club, versus just 30% of high school students nationally who reported feeling a sense of belonging at their school.*
More than a third of kids (37%) report being bullied on school property and 18% report being electronically bullied over the last year. However, data shows that youth are 16% less likely to tell an adult when they are electronically bullied versus in-person.
2022 Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Youth Outcomes Initiative Member Survey
*YouthTruth: Students Weigh In, Part III: Learning and Well-Being During COVID-19
Boys & Girls Club teen leaders selected these five topics as the biggest issues impacting today’s teenagers. In leadership programs across Clubs nationwide, teen service projects and initiatives will work to address:
Compared to the general adult population, Boys & Girls Club alumni are more satisfied with their lives – from their emotional and physical well-being to their careers and financial health, to their sense of community and hope for what their future holds.
Boys & Girls Clubs of America 2021 Alumni Study
There is a youth mental health crisis in our nation. Today’s kids and teens need trusted, safe places and nonjudgmental adult mentors who they feel comfortable talking to about their mental health, their identity and what’s going on in their lives.
Youth feel confident in their capabilities in the workforce and as leaders, but in a post-pandemic and 24/7 online world, may need to build key career readiness skills like collaboration, teamwork and conflict resolution.
Our increasingly digital world poses new challenges to youth safety, self-esteem and relationship-building.
This downloadable suite of infographics covers youth data across mental health, workforce readiness, online safety, STEM, the arts and more. Click on any tile to download for use in your own channels and publications. If it doesn't download automatically, right click on image and select "Save Image as..." to download to your computer.
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Youth mentoring programs can help build teens’ confidence, improve their mental health and connect them with opportunities to be successful. Youth mentor Suriya Khong, VP of Teen Initiatives at Boys & Girls Clubs of Sarasota and DeSoto Counties (shown on the left), shares why every child needs a mentor, and what a good mentor-mentee relationship looks like.
11/11/2021
When raising and supporting young people, you can infuse the principles of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to build welcoming, safe places where all belong.
08/16/2021
The negative impact of social media, especially Instagram, on the mental health of young people continues to make headlines – here’s what you can do to support your kid or teen in having a healthy self-esteem and developing safe digital habits.
08/02/2022
Youth Right Now features data points from Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s National Youth Outcomes Initiative 2022 Member Survey. Since 2011, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has surveyed Club members about their experiences at Boys & Girls Clubs to continuously improve services and be agile to the needs of America’s youth. The data set includes youth responses across safety, academics, health and wellness, character and leadership, workforce readiness, social-emotional learning and more. Over the past decade, this data set has grown to an incredible scale with more than 100,000 kids and teens participating – to our knowledge, the largest private data set on kids and teens in the youth-serving sector.
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