Americans Concerned About Back-to-School Mental Health

It comes as no surprise that, especially given the COVID-19 pandemic, the last few years have significantly influenced Americans’ mental health. However, with a once certain re-opening now hanging in the balance and children beginning a new school year, how are Americans evaluating their own mental health and that of those around them?

Recent research by The Harris Poll finds that while most Americans feel their personal health has remained about the same since 2016, they believe the country’s mental health has gotten worse over the same period. More than half of all Americans (51%) agree that mental health has worsened for all Americans over the last five years.

Personal mental health

Americans are somewhat more optimistic about their personal mental well-being. Nearly three in five (57%) say their personal mental health has stayed the same over the last five years. Another fifth (20%) say their personal mental health has improved while about the same (22%) say it has worsened.

This sense of personal mental well-being varies by gender, ethnicity, and age. Women say twice as often that their mental health has worsened compared to men (28% vs. 15%, respectively). On the other hand, men say twice as often that their mental health has improved compared to women (27% vs. 14%, respectively). Hispanics report mental health improvements more often than any other ethnic group (40% vs. 14% for White Americans, 29% for Black Americans, and 18% for AAPI). However, they are also report mental health declines more often than other ethnic groups (27% vs. 23% for White Americans, 10% for Black Americans, and 25% for AAPI). Perhaps unexpectedly, younger adults report personal mental health improvements twice as often as those over 40 do (30% Gen Z and 31% for Millennials vs. 14% for Gen X, Baby Boomers, and the Silent Generation).

Generational mental health

When thinking about their own generation, most Americans generally feel that the mental health of others around their age has stayed about the same over the last five years. Ever unique, the most significant outlier is Gen Z with whom half (49%) feel that mental health has gotten worse for other people around their age; only 39% say that mental health has stayed about the same for others their age.

When asked about the generation before them, most Americans agreed that mental health has remained stable for those older than them over the last five years.

However, Millennials and Gen Alpha appear to have alarmed their predecessors compared to other generations. Gen X and Gen Z say most often that mental health has become worse for the generations after them over the last five years (46% and 47%, respectively).

Youth mental health

Especially given the pandemic, mental health among young children and teens remains an important concern. At the end of 2020, The Harris Poll found that the parents of school-aged children were reporting an uptick in symptoms associated with mental illness. Americans see more to the increase in youth mental health issues than just the pandemic though. In general, half (50%) of all Americans think mental health among today’s young people (i.e., those currently under the age of 18) is worse compared to previous generations of young people. In addition, looking ahead to autumn, 44% of Americans think mental health will have a negative impact on today’s young people this upcoming school year.

Asking those closer to younger people reveals a slightly different story. Only 40% of parents of children under 18 think mental health among today’s young people (i.e., those currently under the age of 18) is worse compared to previous generations of young people. They are more optimistic about the upcoming school year, too: only 39% of parents think mental health will have a negative impact on today’s young people this upcoming school year. Moreover, 30% of parents with children under 18 say young people’s mental health will have a positive impact on their upcoming school year compared to only 20% of all adults who say the same.

Closer in age to grade school students, Gen Z adults have a more negative take than parents. Forty-eight percent say student mental health will negatively impact the upcoming school year, revealing that, perhaps, parents of school-aged children do not realize how much the current school experience has changed and the role that mental health plays in that experience.

Methodology

This survey was conducted online within the United States from August 13, 2021, and August 16, 2021, among 1,028 adults (aged 18 and over) by The Harris Poll. Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region, and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, the words “margin of error” are avoided as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in our surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the online panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated. For more information on methodology, please contact Dami Rosanwo or Madelyn Franz.