A survey has found that 22-year-olds are more likely to be less happy than their parents, changing the long-held belief that depression, stress and worry peak in midlife.
Gen Z affected
The study, published in the PLOS journals, involved a survey of 40,000 British households and over ten million Americans. Its findings suggest that, compared to previous generations, Gen Z people are more prone to anxiety and despair when in their early 20s, and that young women can be particularly affected.
Research in a Global Minds study, which surveyed almost two million individuals from 44 countries, found that the ‘unhappiness hump’, which traditionally occurred in midlife, has disappeared. Instead, unhappiness now seems to decrease with age.
Reasons for unhappiness
It is believed that a lack of job prospects, poor healthcare services, the impact of the Covid pandemic, and an increased use of social media are impacting the happiness levels of young adults. This can result in the type of issues explored by mental health training courses Milton Keynes run by training providers such as tidaltraining.co.uk/mental-health-training-courses/milton-keynes.
The authors of the study said that theirs is the first paper showing how mental health in young people has declined in recent years. This has resulted in this generation having the highest rates of mental ill-being in both the United Kingdom and the United States.
The authors have stated, however, that more research is required to determine if the factors mentioned previously are actually the cause of the rise in unhappiness in young adults today.