With the COVID-19 pandemic, young adults have experienced a significant number of challenges, including school closures, loss of employment, changes in living situation, and disruptions of plans for the future. And beyond the immediate impact of the pandemic on our lives, the pandemic has unmasked or unleashed other problems: a deepening financial crisis, high rates of unemployment, racial unrest, and the most divisive election campaign in American history.
Even prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, the mental health of young adults in the United States has been a major concern. According tho the CDC, the rate of death by suicide between the ages of 10 and 24 increased by 57.4% over the 10 year period from 2007 to 2018, and suicide is now the second leading cause of death among individuals age 10-24 (after unintentional injury).
We are only beginning to appreciate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and related events on the mental health of young adults. Roy Perlis, MD MSc, Director of the Center for Quantitative Health at MGH, is the lead author of a new study giving us insight into the mental health of young adults in the United States. The data analyzed in this study derives from the COVID-19 Consortium for Understanding the Public’s Policy Preferences Across State, a joint project of Northeastern University, Harvard University, Rutgers University, and Northwestern University. (A complete archive of their reports can be found at covidstates.org.)
Over the course of four survey waves, researchers polled young Americans between the ages of 18 and 24. The data was collected in May (N=2,387), June (N=1,600), August (N=2,903), and October (N=2,053) of 2020 by PureSpectrum using an online survey of samples with state-level representative quotas for race/ethnicity and gender. Data was weighted to match the demographic characteristics of the U.S. population for this age group with respect to race/ethnicity, gender, education, and residency in urban, suburban, or rural areas.
Across the four time points, the prevalence of major depressive symptoms among young adults has remained high, reaching its highest in October, with 47.3% of the respondents reporting moderate to severe depressive symptoms. This represents a five-fold increase in the number of young adults reporting at least moderate depressive symptoms compared to epidemiologic studies conducted before the pandemic. For example, the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that about 8% of young adults reported moderate or greater depressive symptoms between 2013 and 2016.
Rates of anxiety have steadily increased across this interval, with nearly 45% of the sample reporting generalized anxiety in October. Conversely, the number of respondents reporting sleep disruption has decreased slightly from 75.4% in May to 72.2% in October.
Compared to epidemiologic studies conducted before the pandemic, where around 3% of young adults reported having suicidal thoughts, 32.2% of young adults surveyed in May reported suicidal thoughts (at least occasional thoughts of being better off dead, or of harming themselves, during the 2 weeks prior to taking the survey). In the most recent survey in October, the prevalence of suicidal thoughts increased modestly to 36.9%. This represents an alarming 10-fold increase in the prevalence of suicidal thoughts.
Race and ethnicity did not appear to have a significant impact on the prevalence of mental health symptoms; the pandemic had a substantial impact on the mental health of all of the subgroups examined. However, certain experiences related to the pandemic exerted a greater effect on mental health than others. Specifically, the largest increase in symptoms was observed among those who experienced housing insecurity (i.e., eviction, inability to pay rent or mortgage), followed by those who experienced a change in income (i.e., job loss, pay cut). Rates of moderate depression exceeded 60% among those with housing insecurity, and 50% among those with changes in income. Working from home and school closures had less of an impact on mental health.
It is likely that young adults will experience long-term consequences related to the pandemic, in terms of their education and economic futures; this study provides a sober warning regarding the impact of the pandemic on the mental well-being of young adults in the United States and urges the new administration to take this vulnerable population into consideration as we move forward, “Our survey indicates that the next administration will lead a country where unprecedented numbers of younger individuals are experiencing depression, anxiety, and, for some, thoughts of suicide.”
Read More:
THE STATE OF THE NATION: A 50-STATE COVID-19 SURVEY REPORT #23: DEPRESSION AMONG YOUNG ADULTS
