Generation Z most likely generation to report poor mental health, report says

The Dangers of Stress and How To Cope

According to a new report, people born into Generation Z (mid 1990s-early 2000s) are most likely to report poor mental health.

The American Psychological Association surveyed 3,458 adults and 300 teenagers between the ages of 15 and 17 in the United States.

“Our 2018 survey results show that high-profile issues, such as sexual harassment and gun violence, are significant stressors for Gen Z,” the authors wrote. “America’s youngest adults are most likely of all generations to report poor mental health, and Gen Z is also significantly more likely to seek professional help for mental health issues.”

People of this generation (ages 15-21) report more stress about the state of the country. Their reported stress on a scale of 1-10 is 5.4. Average adults report a 5.3 ranking on the scale.

» Stress cows: Students combat finals tension by paying to brush cows

However, Generation Z is more positive about the future of the country than most, with 71 percent of them stating they were hopeful for the future. Approximately 60 percent said they took some sort of political action in the last year.

Generation Z’s of color, however, were more stressed about certain issues than white teens their age. “For around four in 10 Gen Zs of color, personal debt (41 percent) and housing instability (40 percent) are significant sources of stress, while three in 10 white Gen Zs (30 percent) say the same about personal debt and less than one quarter (24 percent) of this demographic cite housing instability,” the authors wrote.

Read the full study here (PDF).