" the percentage of students who said they felt sad or hopeless increased" Because it's being marketed to them.  Every 15 minutes there's a commercial on the boob tube talking about how you probably need medicine if you ever feel sad, tired, etc.  News Flash!  It's normal to be sad once in a while. And if you don't get enough rest or eat properly you will feel tired. That's life. Big Pharma wants you to believe you need a pill for every aspect of your life.  Meanwhile, they're making trillions in profit every year.  And when one of their Rx drugs is proven to be harmful and the class action lawsuits come pouring in, It's not even a deterrent. Because even after the class action is settled and they've paid out say 30 million or so, they're sitll in a profit margin. A very high-profit margin. Maybe we ought to educate our kids not to trust Big Pharma since they've become the fabled "pusher" we heard about in the '70s.