Mental Health Issues in Today's Young Adults

 

MANY OF US HAVE HEARD OUR PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS OR GREAT-GRANDPARENTS TALK ABOUT THE GREAT DEPRESSION.

Unemployment was at 25% or higher.  The basic human needs such as food and shelter were scarce for some families.  Children went barefoot to school and spent winters huddled together with their families by the fireplace.  Times were hard...as hard as this country has ever known.  Most of us cannot imagine such hardship, and the idea of seeing our children suffer in those circumstances is unthinkable.

Yet, a recent study indicates that young people living through the Great Depression and the years immediately following it were actually happier and in some ways better adjusted than today's young adults.

Research done recently at San Diego State University suggests that today's high school and college students are five times more likely to be suffering from some sort of mental health issue than people of the same age in and immediately after the Great Depression.

The research, led by Jean Twenge, a San Diego State University psychology professor, was based on the responses of almost 80,000 high school and college age students who had taken the Minnesota Multiphasic Inventory (MMPI) between 1939 and 2007.

The MMPI, developed in 1939 at the University of Minnesota, is one of the most frequently used tests in the mental health field and is used to assist in identifying personality structure and possible psychological problems.

Modern young people scored highest in the areas of depression and hypomania which is a measure of anxiety and unrealistic expectations.  Research also indicated that modern young people have issues with authority and are growing up with a sense of entitlement not demonstrated in Depression era young adults.

A MATTER OF DEFINITION?

How could it be that today's kids who are growing up with so much can be unhappier and less well-adjusted than Depression era kids who lived in grinding poverty and distress?  It may in part be a matter of definition.

Depression era families tended to be close knit.  Most families were still farming.  Children helped on the farm, and often extended families lived on the same property and even in the same home.  So, happiness was defined through family relationships.

Happiness for today's young adults is tied up in money, professional success and possessions.  There is less emphasis on family relationships, so happiness is more about self than relationships with family and others.

Note:  It should also be noted that people are more willing to report mental health issues today than in former generations as the discussion of those issues has become more acceptable in society.

THE IMPACT OF MODERN CULTURE

There is some indication that our modern culture is partially responsible for the unhappiness of today's young adults.  As we said, there is an overwhelming concern with self and high expections which put pressure on young adults to succeed and get rich.

But, there is also the difference in how kids are raised today as opposed to those who grew up in the Great Depression.  Depression era children, even very young children, had responsibilities as part of the family unit.  They understood from a very young age that it was important for them to pitch in and work to help the family survive.  As a result, they felt valued.

Today children are often over-protected by parents and even school administrators.  Children are not given responsibilities at a young age.  Further, they are not allowed to fail, so they don't develop coping mechanisms for dealing with hardship and stress.  Kids who depend on their parents to do their homework or bail them out when they forget a school project until the last minute, are woefully unprepared for the self-reliance necessary for success in college and employment.  Kids who are not given responsibilities at home are not prepared to take care of themselves when they get out on their own.  They grow up with the impression that things will be done for them and without a sense of being a contributor to their family and community.

There is also some evidence that today's fast pace and over-abundance of information may be a cause of mental health issues in today's young adults.  The 24-hour news cycle, cell phones, social web networks and the tendency of young people to be constantly "plugged in" may be causing anxiety and stress.

Finally, there is less emphasis today on belief in something beyond self.  Religion was an integral part of personal and family life in the 30's.  Much of a family's social life in the community revolved around the church which offered social and economic support for struggling families and spiritual support for individuals.  Traditions, mores and values taught at church were reinforced at school and in the home.  So knowing right from wrong was less confusing.

Young people in today's world are in a constant state of confusion about right and wrong.  Today's young Christians, in particular, often find themselves the target of political correctness when they leave home and try to make a life for themselves.  Society pressures young people to leave the church and the values of their parents.  Leaving those values and beliefs behind leaves young people rudderless in a relativistic world.

WHAT TO DO

We could write a book about how to deal with this issue.  Suffice it to say that there are a few basic things parents need to understand about raising children to be happy young adults.
 

• Self esteem in children is built by allowing them to contribute to the family as a whole, not by buying them things or getting them into the right clubs, schools or social groups.
• Parents must monitor the amount of time kids are "plugged in" to electronic media.  Kids still need time to lie in the grass and watch the clouds go by.
• Although it is important to raise kids to be successful productive citizens, they must also be taught how to live balanced lives.  The happiest adults are those who make a living doing what they love...no matter their socio-economic situation.
• Kids should always be assured of their parent's love and protection, but they must also be allowed to fail. They need to understand that failure is a normal part of life, and that they will grow and learn through failure.
• Children need to learn that they are not entitled to possessions, good grades or trophies unless they are earned.
• Kids must be taught respect for authority at an early age.
• The greatest gift you can give your children is a foundation of faith.  It provides a rudder in a rudderless world.
  
  If the research is accurate, the trend toward an unhappier and less well-adjusted population is disturbing as one considers what it may predict for the country's future.  But ideas such as those listed above don't require a degree in psychology.  They are common sense solutions which any parent can employ with the goal of raising happy well-adjusted children.