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Survey: 87% of Gen Z Say They Experience Mental Health Challenges Regularly

According to a new national survey from the Harris Poll and Blue Shield of California, almost 9 out of 10 teens and young adults report experiencing mental health challenges regularly, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Eighty-seven percent of people aged 14-25 surveyed reported having mental health challenges on a regular basis. The survey, conducted May 31 – June 13, 2023, included responses from 1,368 people – with 318 of them in California. Respondents came from urban, suburban, and rural communities.

It is the first year Blue Shield has worded the survey question this way, so it is unclear whether this statistic is on the rise or the decline, but the figure is startling nonetheless.

And looking at other recent data, another survey showed that the proportion of California youth who characterized their mental health as “good or excellent” decreased from 54% in 2021 to 41% in 2023, while the proportion of those who reported “fair or poor” mental health rose from 42% to 59% during the same period.

Other state and national data suggest that Gen Z is struggling with mental health more severely than other age groups.

Why is Gen Z experiencing so much stress?

The 2021 California Health Interview Survey data shows that California teens (15-17 years old) and young adults (18-24 years old) are at higher risk of experiencing serious psychological distress  – diagnosable mental health struggles that need treatment – than any other age group. The 40% of teens and 36% of young adults reporting “serious psychological distress” is roughly double the 19% average among the general population.

David Bond, a licensed clinical social worker and director of behavioral health for Blue Shield of California, explained why Gen Z seems to be hit hardest by mental health challenges. Gen Z will experience the brunt of social stressors like climate change, economic uncertainty, and racial injustice.

“There’s a higher level of anxiety about the future,” said Bond. “When we think about economic anxiety or climate change, those issues tend to have more of an impact on stress levels for younger generations because they’re going to be  experiencing the outcome of those in their lifetime, whereas for older adults the impacts may not be as evident in their lifetime.”

Young Americans also face a different economic landscape than their parents – with much higher education and housing costs relative to wages. Social media amplifies issues. And unlike their grandparents, the younger generation has little lived experience of going through and surviving major upheavals like WWI.

“These issues hit Gen Z in a different way because there’s a sense of pessimism, a lack of optimism,” Bond explained. “Someone in an older generation has had more opportunities to see something similar in the past and realize they’ve gotten through it. The younger someone is, the fresher a stressor seems. There’s less experience in knowing how to get through something.”

What mental health challenges are most prevalent among young people?

Survey respondents reported the following mental health challenges:

  • Anxiety – 58%
  • Feeling stressed – 54%
  • Lack of motivation – 53%
  • Feeling overwhelmed – 49%
  • Loneliness – 45%

Female, trans, and non-binary youth appear to be struggling more than young men. Family relationships and negative body image issues were of particular concern to these groups.

According to the survey results, “income level has a direct impact on emotional well-being,” with 20% of youth from families living at the poverty line reporting their mental health as “poor,” triple the rate of the highest income group.

Which social and political issues weigh most heavily on young people’s minds?

  • Gun violence – 69%
  • Racism/social injustice – 54%
  • Lack of affordable healthcare – 51%
  • Concern about finding a good job – 50% nationally and 55% in California

Nearly one in three (32%) of young people of color report that racism negatively impacts them to a degree that affects daily life.

How do young people view social media?

On average, young people spend 5.6 hours a day on social media platforms. The respondents were split as to whether social media is more helpful (27%) or more harmful (31%) to their emotions and mental health.

So are young people truly experiencing greater mental health challenges, or just talking more openly about them?

Perhaps both. Bond explained that one reason teens and young adults report such high rates of mental health struggles because they are more willing to talk about them openly, rejecting any stigma around mental health issues.

And one bright spot in the survey found that more of them are seeking support as well:

  • 93% of those surveyed use self-care to manage their mental health
  • 78% have discussed their mental health with others
  • 71% have sought out self-help exercises and other resources to address their mental health

Read the full article here.

Check out the survey results here.

 

Ho, Catherine. “Nearly 90% of teens and young adults have mental health challenges, survey finds.” San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Aug 2023, https://www.sfchronicle.com/health/article/teen-adult-mental-health-18273324.php.

Photo by Christian Erfurt on Unsplash