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We Must Do More to Support the Mental Health of Young People

Our second panel in the Advancing Young Adult Health series focused on mental health, and the crisis among young people who are facing growing need, but a lack of available mental health care. While the COVID pandemic has increased stress and anxiety in nearly every American, an alarming trend in mental health concerns among young people has been building for more than a decade. According to a study done by the American Psychological Association, between 2008 and 2017, the amount of adults that experienced serious psychological distress increased among most age groups, with the largest increases seen among younger adults aged 18-25 at 71 percent. Currently: 

  • Young adults between 18 and 25 report the highest levels of mental health issues compared to other age groups, with about 1 in 4 experiencing a mental health illness; and about 8% reporting a serious mental illness 
  • Suicide ideation has also increased over that time period as well. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people under the age of 34 
  • According to CDC data, young people who identify as lesbian, gay or bi are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide compared to straight young people 
  • And transgender adults are 12 times more likely to attempt suicide compared to the general population 

And of course these are all statistics gathered before the COVID pandemic hit. The severe economic impact, job losses, social isolation, and fear of the deadly disease itself is causing anxiety and depression to skyrocket among millions of Americans. The Washington Post recently reported a jump from 25 percent to 50 percent of Americans reporting feelings of depression once the pandemic hit, and one-third of all Americans reporting signs of clinical depression and anxiety. Asian Americans also reported spikes in depression and anxiety as xenophobia and racist comments referring to Coronavirus as the “Chinese virus,” at times by our own president, have erupted. 

Our discussion took place a few weeks after the 9-minute video of George Floyd’s death went viral, causing anxiety and depression rates in Black Americans to spike, adding to the collective racial trauma that has been exacerbated by COVID’s disproportionate impact on Black Americans at the same time. According to that same ongoing Washington Post survey, rates of Black Americans showing clinically positive signs of anxiety and depression jumped up from 36 percent to 41 percent within a week, while rates for White Americans stayed largely the same, around 30 percent during that time. While rates across all racial and ethnic groups have increased significantly since the start of the pandemic, young people of color have been especially hard hit. 

Dr. Nia West-Bey of CLASP also highlighted how the protests and demonstrations following the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Aubrey, Breonna Taylor and countless others, can also act as a cathartic outlet to handle the trauma of systemic racism.

Furthermore, Dr. West-Bey highlighted how young people, who are generally more open and willing to talk about mental health compared to older generations, think about mental health in terms of what they need and what they want to be, rather than the negative statistics plaguing adolescents and young adults.

Campus-based mental health care 

Our Young Advocate on the panel, Ariel Paige, was a lead organizer at her college to ramp up mental health care services on campus. During the panel, she spoke to not only the limited resources available on campus, but how difficult it can be to access the resources that do exist.

Colleges and universities need to do more to meet the needs of their students. College students have faced massive disruptions this year – from abruptly having to leave campus dorms, to transitioning to online classes, and agonizing over whether to return to campus this fall. Students were already struggling with the high cost of tuition, balancing classes and work schedules, finding child care, and managing to maintain some level of good mental health. Colleges and universities have a responsibility to do more to ensure students can access the care they need, that they are safe, and fully able to learn and engage while pursuing their degrees.

Where do we go from here 

There have been some promising measures taken in response to the pandemic. For example, health care providers pivoted to massively expanding telehealth services almost over night in order to maintain a level of access to care. And, the vast majority of those telehealth visits have been in the mental health space. Telehealth was already an effective way to reach people who lack access to physical spaces – whether that be because they live in rural areas, lack transportation, or aren’t able to take the time out of the day to make an in-person appointment. Young people are also especially comfortable with technology and may be more prone to text therapy or therapy apps, if given affordable options.

The panel also discussed ways we can improve access to mental health in the near term in relatively straightforward ways – such as expanding access to Medicaid, the number one payer of mental health services in the country, in the 14 states that lack expansion.

Additionally, resources could be reallocated to support young people when they are experiencing a mental health crisis. Every panelist endorsed establishing and funding a “9-8-8” number, an alternative to dialing 9-1-1 when there is no danger but someone needs immediate attention.

Finally, we need research. We cannot meet the need of today’s young people without investing in research to identify where the highest need is, and evidence-based solutions to meet that need.

The COVID pandemic has shined a spotlight on the brewing mental health crisis our country is facing, and seems to have served as a wake up call — that we need to treat mental health as seriously as our physical health, we need to greatly improve parity implementation so that people actually can access the care they need, and we need to heavily invest in our mental health workforce, so that it is representative of the communities they seek to serve.

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