Most young adults dealt with job loss in pandemic — and suffered mentally, survey says
Most young adults are capable of dodging a severe case of COVID-19, but they aren’t as lucky when it comes to employment and mental health during a pandemic, research shows.
A survey of nearly 5,000 Americans between 18 and 26 years old found that about 60% of young adults lost their jobs or lived with someone who did since March, while nearly 40% expected it to happen within the coming four weeks.
These individuals were also more likely to experience symptoms of anxiety and depression such as lack of interest, nervousness or uncontrollable worry. It’s a trend researchers say should raise flags for mental health professionals and policymakers as the pandemic worsens by the day.
The survey results were published Nov. 9 in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
“Young adults are especially affected by employment loss since they are just starting their careers,” study senior author Dr. Jason Nagata, a specialist in adolescent and young adult medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a news release. “Internships have been canceled and employment offers have been rescinded during the pandemic.”
The researchers analyzed data from a Census Bureau survey conducted June 15-30 of 4,852 young adults’ employment and mental health status since March 13.
In the seven days prior to taking the survey, 75% of participants said they were nervous, anxious or “on edge,” 68% said they couldn’t stop or control their worrying, 67% reported having little pleasure in doing things and 64% said they felt “down, depressed or hopeless,” according to the release.
The researchers said younger adults often work in places that likely experienced lockdowns, such as movie theaters and gyms, which don’t offer work-from-home opportunities. This, the team said, could explain the greater rates of unemployment among young adults rather than older adults.
“The combination of living through the uncertainty of a global pandemic and the subsequent economic and employment hardships may be particularly burdensome on the mental health of young adults,” the team wrote in the study.
Experts suggest young adults seek mental health help earlier rather than later.
“Policymakers need to consider the long-term scarring that may occur as a result of both employment losses and poor mental health,” study lead author Dr. Kyle Ganson, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, said in the release. “We need to ensure that health insurance policies adequately cover mental health services for young adults.”
This story was originally published November 13, 2020 at 5:41 PM with the headline "Most young adults dealt with job loss in pandemic — and suffered mentally, survey says."
