State of Gen Z Mental Health
Harmony Healthcare IT, a data management firm that works with health data, surveyed more than 1,000 Gen Z (ages 18 to 24) about their mental health and concerns about their generation’s future. Here are the results.
During the most formative years of their lives, Gen Z has been front and center to some of the most unprecedented events in U.S. and global history. One of the biggest is the pandemic, which will have a lasting impact on the future of technology, healthcare, and even mental health.
Almost 3 in 4 Gen Zers say the pandemic has negatively impacted their mental health. On top of day-to-day mental health struggles, many are concerned and unsure about what lies ahead.
Mental Health 2022
Nearly a third (31%) of Gen Zers would rate their overall mental health in 2022 as bad. When asked to describe their mental health over the period of one month, one out of four reported having more bad days than good. On average, Gen Z reported about ten tough mental health days in the span of one month.
More than two in five have a diagnosed mental health condition. Of those, more than one out of four (26%) were diagnosed during the pandemic (from March 2020 or later). The biggest mental health issue Gen Z deals with is anxiety. Nine out of ten Gen Z with diagnosed mental health conditions struggle with anxiety, and nearly eight out of ten (78%) are battling depression.
Other mental health conditions the generation faces are ADHD (27%), PTSD (20%), and OCD (17%). Nearly three in five (57%) Gen Zers with mental health conditions are taking medication, and those who aren’t on their parents’ insurance pay $528 a year out-of-pocket for their medication (about $44 a month).
About one in five (18%) are doing therapy, and they pay a lot for it. Gen Zers who aren’t on their parents’ insurance, pay an average of $149 a month out-of-pocket. That’s about $1,788 a year. While expensive, 87% of Gen Z who are getting therapy find it helpful. About two in five (39%) go to therapy once a week or more.
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