Gun violence, political turmoil and per-
sonal problems are causing significant stress among
America’s teenagers and youngest adults. Members
of Generation Z—people ages 15 to 21—reported
the worst mental health of any generation included
in the American Psychological Association’s 2018
“Stress in America” report, which was based on al-
most 3,500 interviews with people ages 18 and older
plus 300 interviews with teenagers ages 15 to 17.
Just 45% of those in Gen Z reported “excellent”
or “very good” mental health, compared with 56% of
millennials, 51% of Gen X individuals, 70% of baby
boomers and 74% of adults older than 73. Of the
Gen Z respondents, 27% called their mental health
“fair” or “poor”—and stress seems to be largely to
blame, with 91% of Gen Z adults saying they had felt
physical or emotional symptoms, such as depression
or anxiety, associated with stress.
Stress levels were high across generations. The
average reported level across age groups was a 4.9
out of 10. But while older adults tended to fall below
this line—the averages among boomers and older
adults were 4.1 and 3.3, respectively—the opposite
was true for younger generations. Gen X had an aver-
age stress level of 5.1, and millennials had the highest
overall, at 5.7. Gen Z fell in the middle, at 5.3, but in
many categories, the youngest age group felt more
stress than older ones.
Gun violence seemed to be a particularly large
source of stress for the school-age generation, with
75% of those in Gen Z calling mass shootings a sig-
nificant source of stress. Seventy-two percent said
the same of school shootings, and 21% of Gen Z
THE YOUNG
ARE MOST
RESTLESS
Generation Z is stressed out—and
gun violence is partly to blame
BY JAMIE DUCHARME
students said the thought of a shooting occurring
at their school was a constant or frequent source of
stress. Their folks agree: 74% of parents included
in the survey called school shootings a significant
source of stress.
Other issues in the news, from rising suicide rates
to sexual harassment to migrant-family separation,
also sparked more stress among Gen Z individuals
than those in other generations, according to the re-
port. Sixty-two percent called rising suicide rates a
source of stress, compared with 44% of adults over-
all; 53% said the same of reported sexual harassment
and assault, compared with 39% of adults overall;
and 57% were stressed by family separations, com-
pared with 45% of adults overall.
But it’s not just the news that’s bringing young
adults down. Work, finances and health-related con-