Adolescents with adult support

Photo Courtesy of BSK/COO

In a survey of public school students, 8th, 10th, and 12th graders were asked if there were adults in their neighborhood or community they could talk to about something important. On average in 2018 and 2021, 70.7% of King County students reported having supportive adults in their lives.   

• Region: At 61.7%, South Region had the lowest proportion of students with adults they could turn to. East Region reported the highest proportion at 79.4%.  

• Race and ethnicity: White students (80.1%) were most likely to report having adults to talk to. Students in 3 race/ethnicity groups were less likely than King County average to have adult support: Black students (59.2%), Hispanic students (56.3%), and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students (53.0%). Students who identified as another race (outside of the seven listed groups) also had a lower rate of adult support than King County overall, at 66.6% of students in this group.  Among Asian students, those who identified as Cambodian/Khmer (56.4%), Filipino (54.2%), Japanese (63.5%), and Vietnamese (55.4%) were less likely to have adult support than the King County average.  

• Sexual orientation: Students who identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (63.9%) were less likely than heterosexual students (73.3%) to have adult support.   

• Gender: Students who identified as transgender (61.1%) or “something else fits better” (61.1%) or who were questioning their gender (61.3%) were less likely to have adult support than the King County average.

• Trends: The proportion of King County students who can turn to a supportive adult decreased by 7.7%, from 74.4% in 2018 to 66.7% in 2021. It decreased by even more in South King County, falling by 10.5% from 66.9% to 56.4%. It also fell by over 10% among Asian students.