A major new study has found that young people in the UK are now the unhappiest demographic, overtaking the traditional midlife 'unhappiness hump'. The research, published in the journal PLOS One, analysed data from over 40,000 British households and more than ten million Americans.
Professor David Blanchflower of Dartmouth College, who led the study, said the shift is not due to middle-aged people becoming more cheerful, but because Generation Z is far more prone to despair and anxiety than previous generations at the same age. The findings show that mental ill-being is now highest among the young and declines with age, a reversal of the long-established pattern where unhappiness peaked in middle age.
The study drew on data from Global Minds, a mental health survey covering nearly two million people across 44 countries. Researchers found that the U-shaped curve of wellbeing, which typically declined from childhood to around age 50 before rebounding, has disappeared worldwide. It has been replaced by a gradually descending line as unhappiness decreases with age.
Possible reasons for the trend include the long-term impact of the Great Recession on young people's job prospects, underfunded mental health services, the mental health challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, and increased social media use. However, the authors stressed that further research is needed to establish causation.
The study's authors warned of a serious mental health crisis among the young that needs addressing. They noted that the decline in young people's mental health in recent years represents a huge change from the past, when mental ill-being peaked in middle age.
