On Edge: Understanding and Preventing Young Adults’ Mental Health Challenges
October 2023
According to our report, young adults in the U.S. reported twice the rates of anxiety and depression as teens. They identified several drivers of these emotional challenges, including a lack of meaning and purpose.
The report, On Edge: Understanding and Preventing Young Adults’ Mental Health Challenges, is based on a nationally representative survey of young adults (ages 18 – 25), teens, and parents conducted in December 2022. Thirty-six percent (36%) of young adults who responded to the survey reported anxiety compared to 18% of teens; 29% of young adults reported depression compared to 15% of teens.
The report identifies a variety of stressors that may be driving young adults’ high rates of anxiety and depression. It also suggests strategies for promoting young adults’ mental health and mitigating their emotional challenges.
Authored by Richard Weissbourd, Milena Batanova, Joseph McIntyre, and Eric Torres with Shanae Irving, Sawsan Eskander, and Kiran Bhai.
“‘I just wish I was able to calm down literally ever. I always feel on edge, everything scares me…If I could just find some way to calm down a little it would work miracles.’”
Top drivers of young adults’ mental health challenges
A lack of meaning, purpose, and direction: Nearly 3 in 5 young adults (58%) reported that they lacked “meaning or purpose” in their lives in the previous month. Half of young adults reported that their mental health was negatively influenced by “not knowing what to do with my life.
Financial worries and achievement pressure: More than half of young adults reported that financial worries (56%) and achievement pressure (51%) were negatively impacting their mental health.
A perception that the world is unraveling: Forty-five percent (45%) of young adults reported that a general "sense that things are falling apart” was impairing their mental health.
Relationship deficits: Forty-four percent (44%) of young adults reported a sense of not mattering to others and 34% reported loneliness.
Social and political issues: Forty-two percent (42%) reported the negative influence on their mental health of gun violence in schools, 34% cited climate change, and 30% cited worries that our political leaders are incompetent or corrupt.
“‘I would really like to have some sort of meaning from working towards a goal or cause that betters humanity as a whole. I see the world falling apart and no direction for humanity, and I’d like to do something about it.’”
Prevention strategies
Cultivating meaning and purpose in young people, including by engaging them in caring for others and service;
Supporting young people in developing gratifying and durable relationships; and
Helping young people experience their lives as more than the sum of their achievements.
