Teen Depression Statistics: Demographics Show Girls In Need, Says Mission Prep

Mission Prep, a specialized adolescent mental health clinic with centers across California and Virginia, has released a report explaining gendered differences in how depression manifests in teenagers. It highlights new findings, which stress that teenage girls remain disproportionately affected by the condition and that they have a significantly earlier age of onset.

While the mental health of teen boys has been increasingly in the limelight as awareness of the manosphere spreads, and the impact of its damaging gender ideologies become apparent—with many boys in increasing danger of social isolation, falling behind academically and adopting a self-fulfilling nihilistic position regarding their future prospects—Mission Prep stresses that the mental health profession must be cautious of over-correcting and neglecting the support that adolescent girls also need.

As they explained, in part due to the increasingly mainstream nature of manosphere rhetoric, there is an increasing perception that teenage girls are fine, when in reality they are still significantly more likely to experience depression than boys.

Moreover, the same algorithmic online world that has preyed on vulnerable teen boys also presents a significant danger to teen girls in the form of negative self-esteem and body image, damaged in-person social skills and, in more severe cases, encouragement to adopt self-harming behaviors. As the Pew Research Center and The 19th recently reported, teen girls are also significantly more likely than boys to say they spend too much time on social media and that they would struggle to give it up.

The reasons for the depression divide are also more complex than gendered socialization and cultural factors, with new research indicating that teenage girls are more likely to experience depression due to biological differences, including factors related to menstruation and brain structure.

While Mission Prep holds an open view of gender—and welcomes non-binary and transitioning teens at their trusted centers—they argue that mental health clinics in the adolescent space need to be doing more to address the complex roots of depression in teen girls. Clinics also need to ensure that their diagnostic criteria distinguishes between the way depression often manifests in girls versus boys.

For their part, their centers have also been piloting the more extensive use of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) among their adolescent female patients. This innovative treatment technology, which uses magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain, has shown promising results in alleviating symptoms of depression—particularly in patients who do not respond well to traditional treatments like SSRIs or talk therapy.

While TMS has been FDA-approved for adult depression for over a decade, its application in adolescent care is still emerging, with Mission Prep positioning itself at the forefront of this development. The organization’s customized treatment plans for teen girls take into account hormonal fluctuations and patterns of brain activity that may influence treatment efficacy.

What is clear is that, as depression rates collectively worsen, clinicians must refine their diagnostic tools and treatment strategies to better reflect the distinct experiences of both teen girls and boys.

Mission Prep

30310 Rancho Viejo Rd.
San Juan Capistrano
California
92675
United States