Coronavirus May Be Harder on Mental Health of Young Americans

A new public opinion study finds that the coronavirus health crisis¹ has affected² the mental health of young Americans under age 35.

The study found that 56 percent of Americans 18 through 34 said they felt isolated³ in the past month. That compares to 40 percent of older Americans.

The research group NORC at the University of Chicago carried out the study. It questioned more than 2000 people age 18 and older across the United States.

Younger adults are dealing⁴ with major life issues, including starting college and finding jobs. However, the pandemic has kept them from social activities that are especially important for unmarried people and those starting families.

Many younger people are beginning their adult lives during an economic recession⁵. Those in their 30s are experiencing their second.

Christina Torres is a 32-year-old schoolteacher in Honolulu, Hawaii. The health crisis forced her to postpone⁶ her marriage ceremony which had been set for June. The pandemic also stopped her from attending a funeral for her grandmother.

And, Torres misses her friends and exercising at the gym.

"...It's hard not to feel hopeless sometimes, especially because the numbers keep going up," she said.

The NORC study found that younger Americans show higher rates of psychosomatic problems. These include trouble sleeping and headaches. The likelihood⁷ of experiencing these problems decreases with age.

Tom Smith directs NORC's General Social Survey. He said one possible reason for the difference between young and old is that young adults have less experience dealing with public health crises⁸.

Smith, who is 71 years old, said he grew up with the health crisis of polio.

Torres thinks some of the difficulty for her generation comes from a lack of historical understanding shared by their parents' generation.

She worries about the future. "It doesn't feel like it's going to get better," she said.

Twenty-five percent of young adults in the study described their mental health as fair or poor. Thirteen percent of those 35 and older described themselves this way.

Wayne Evans is 18 years old. He is in his first year of studies at North Carolina State University. But he was sent home because there were a lot of coronavirus cases at the school. He said social media reminds him every day of the threat of COVID-19.

"In some ways social media has added to my stressors, yes," he said.

The NORC study found 67 percent of young adults felt at least sometimes that they could not control the important things in life. That is compared to 50 percent of those 35 and older.

An even larger difference existed between young and old who felt that they could not overcome the increasing problems they faced.

Fifty-five percent of younger Americans said difficulties were growing too high, while only 33 percent of older Americans said the same.

Evans blamed social media as part of the problem.

"Just the information overload⁹ that's unavoidable on social media platforms can be distracting¹⁰," he said.

Words in This Story

poll¹¹ –n. a study in which people are asked their opinions in an effort to find out what the public thinks about an issue

psychosomatic –adj. related to mental or emotional problems rather than physical sickness

distracting –adj. something that pulls attention from one subject and places it on another

isolated –adj. separated from others

pandemic –n. when a disease spreads very quickly affecting many people over a very large area or throughout the world

grandmother –n. the mother of someone's mother

headache –n. pain in the head

1 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 isolated   

adj.与世隔绝的

参考例句：

• His bad behaviour was just an isolated incident. 他的不良行为只是个别事件。
• Patients with the disease should be isolated. 这种病的患者应予以隔离。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

6 postpone   

v.延期，推迟

参考例句：

• I shall postpone making a decision till I learn full particulars.在未获悉详情之前我得从缓作出决定。
• She decided to postpone the converastion for that evening.她决定当天晚上把谈话搁一搁。

7 likelihood   

n.可能，可能性

参考例句：

• We must try our best to reduce the likelihood of war.我们必须尽最大努力减少战争的可能性。
• I don't think there is any likelihood of his agreeing to it.我认为不会有他同意那件事情的可能。

8 crises   

n. 危机；危险期

参考例句：

• Economic crises recur periodically. 经济危机周期性地发生。
• Great crises often call forth gifted leaders. 危急存亡之际常能产生天才的领袖。

9 overload   

vt.使超载；n.超载

参考例句：

• Don't overload the boat or it will sink.别超载，否则船会沉。
• Large meals overload the digestive system.吃得太饱会加重消化系统的负担。

10 distracting   

v.使（人）分心，分散（注意力）( distract的现在分词 )；打扰

参考例句：

• You're distracting me from my work. 你使我不能专心工作。
• Nothing is more distracting than a neurotic boss. 没有什么比神经过敏的老板更恼人的了。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 poll   

n.民意测验，民意调查，选举投票

参考例句：

• The result of the poll won't be known until midnight.选举结果要到午夜才能揭晓。
• They expected a heavy poll.他们期望会有很高的投票数。