A recent study has revealed that young adults now report lower levels of well-being compared to those experiencing mid-life crises, marking a significant shift in mental health trends. Conducted by researchers David G. Blanchflower, Alex Bryson, and Xiaowei Xu, the analysis challenges the long-standing notion of a midlife “unhappiness hump,” suggesting that mental health strains among youth are on the rise globally.
The study, published last week, indicates that the traditional U-shaped happiness curve—where life satisfaction dips during middle age—has flattened or even reversed for today’s younger generation. The authors attribute this change to increasing distress levels among the youth. Blanchflower noted, “We started out seeing this in the U.S., where we initially found that despair—where people say that every day of their life is a bad mental health day—has exploded for the young, especially among young women. We then found the same in the UK. And we have now seen that all around the world.”
Global Trends in Youth Mental Health
Supporting this finding is the Global Flourishing Study, a collaborative effort by Harvard University, Baylor University, and Gallup. It reveals that younger adults start life with lower “flourishing” scores and experience little to no improvement until later years. This pattern contrasts sharply with previous decades of research that documented a gradual increase in happiness as individuals age.
The Atlantic columnist Arthur C. Brooks emphasized the implications of these findings, stating, “Given the well-documented increase over the past decades in diagnosed mood disorders among adolescents and young adults, we might expect that left side [younger adults] to be pushed down in newer estimates. And sure enough, this is exactly what the new GFS study finds, in the U.S. and around the world: The flourishing scores don’t fall from early adulthood, because they now start low; they stay low until they start to rise at the expected age.”
Shifting Perspectives in the United States
Recent polling in the United States highlights this downward trend further. A survey conducted by the Gallup–Walton Family Foundation in August indicated that only 39% of Gen Z adults consider themselves “thriving,” a decline of five percentage points from 2024. In contrast, middle and high school students have reported higher levels of well-being, suggesting that the issues affecting older youth may differ significantly from those impacting younger adolescents.
As the conversation around mental health intensifies, researchers and policymakers are focusing on various contributing factors. Some point to the impact of social media and excessive screen time, while others highlight loneliness, economic pressures, and family stress. Dr. Vivek H. Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, previously advocated for warning labels on social media platforms due to potential mental health risks for young users. Additionally, analyses from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have linked increased stress and anxiety among teenagers to rising substance use rates.
The findings from this multi-country study underscore the urgent need for a comprehensive understanding of the mental health challenges faced by younger generations. As these trends continue to evolve, the implications for public health and societal well-being cannot be understated. Addressing the root causes of declining happiness among youth will require collaborative efforts across sectors, from mental health advocacy to educational reform and economic support.