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 2023, 70.1% of King County students had supportive adults in their lives.   

• Region: At 61.5%, South King County had the lowest proportion of students with adults they could turn to among all King County regions.  

• Race and ethnicity: White students (79.2%) were the group most likely to have adults to talk to. Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (46.9%), Hispanic (56.6%), Black (57.6%), Other Race (62.0%), Middle Eastern North African (63.8%), American Indian and Alaska Native (66.5%), Multiple Race (70.5%) and Asian (70.5%) students and were less likely to have adult support. Although 70.5% of Asian students had adult support this varied by ethnicity. Cambodian/Khmer (58.1%) and Vietnamese (62.0%) students were less likely to have adult support, and Asian Indian (82.5%) students were more likely to have adult support than Asian students overall.  

• Sexual orientation: Lesbian, gay, or bisexual (64.8%) students were less likely than heterosexual students (73.0%) to have adult support.   

• Gender: Transgender (59.4%), Other gender (58.0%) or who were questioning their gender (60.3%) students were less likely to have adult support than cisgender students. 

• Trends: The percent of King County students who had supportive adults in their lives increased over time from 68.5% in 2006 to 74.4% in 2018. However, since then, the percent of students who can turn to a supportive adult decreased to 70.1% in 2023. From 2021 to 2023, an increase was seen across grade levels, sexual orientation, region, several races/ethnicities, and King County overall.