Latest news with #YRBSS
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Gen Z's angst is dismantling the long-established happiness curve and confounding researchers
The happiness curve has been a relatively predictable U-shape for a long time: You are at your happiest when you're young, then happiness declines in midlife, only to rise once again in old age. But researchers have discovered that the curve is flattening, as happiness is dipping earlier in life than it used to. The results came out of the Global Flourishing Study, a collaboration between researchers at Harvard and Baylor University who analyzed data collected by Gallup from more than 200,000 people in 22 countries. They discovered that, on average, young adults ages 18 to 29 were unhappy, while grappling with poor mental and physical health, negative perceptions of their own character, finding meaning in life, financial security, and the quality of their relationships. Using Harvard's Flourishing Measure—a composite of happiness and life satisfaction, physical and mental health, meaning and purpose, character and virtue, and close social relationships—researchers determined how much each participant was flourishing in their life. Now, they found, the flourishing curve is flat until around age 50, when it begins to rise again. Researchers found this to be true across several countries, including the UK and Australia—but the well-being gap of younger and older adults was the widest in the U.S. 'It is a pretty stark picture,' Tyler J. VanderWeele, the lead author of the study and director of Harvard's Human Flourishing Program, told the New York Times. 'Are we sufficiently investing in the well-being of youth?' Recent research shows that life satisfaction and happiness have steadily been declining among young adults for the last decade. In the U.S., the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBSS) has reported a dramatic rise in anxiety and depression among American Gen Zers, especially young women. In 2023, 53% of female high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, compared with 28% of boys. 'Young people are not doing as well as they used to be,' the Global Flourishing Study authors wrote. 'While causes are likely diverse, mental health concerns with young adults are clearly on the rise.' A 2023 national survey from Harvard also found that young adults (ages 18 to 25), suffered from higher rates of anxiety and depression than younger teens. That study concluded the following factors were driving Gen Z's declining mental health: A lack of meaning and direction: The survey found that over half (58%) young adults reported that they lacked 'meaning or purpose' in their lives in the previous month, with half also reporting that their mental health was negatively influenced by 'not knowing what to do with my life.' Financial worries: 56% of young adults were concerned about their financial well-being. Pressure to achieve: Half of young adults expressed that achievement pressure was negatively influencing their mental health. Feeling that the world is falling apart: 45% of young adults reported that a general "sense that things are falling apart' caused their mental health to decline. Loneliness and social isolation: Nearly half (44%) of young adults reported a sense of not mattering to others, while 34% reported they were lonely. Social and political issues: Widespread issues such as climate change, gun violence in schools, and concerns about political leadership were among the topics weighing on Gen Z. For more on happiness: Researchers have followed over 700 people since 1938 to find the keys to happiness. Here's what they discovered Happier parents tap into this 1 emotion Americans under 30 are so miserable that the U.S. just fell to a historic low ranking in the annual World Happiness Report This story was originally featured on
The Guardian
11-02-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Judge orders CDC and FDA to restore webpages removed after Trump order
A federal judge has ordered that the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration restore several of the webpages that they took down following Donald Trump's executive order attacking diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). On Tuesday, US district judge John Bates gave the health agencies until midnight to reinstate public medical information that had been scrubbed from the websites. The orders came after the group Doctors of America said the removal of webpages at the CDC was detrimental to patient care because doctors rely on such pages for information about treating different conditions. Bates ordered the webpages to be restored to their previous condition as of 30 January. The judge wrote that 'it bears emphasizing who ultimately bears the harm of defendants' actions: everyday Americans, and most acutely, underprivileged Americans, seeking healthcare'. Citing declarations from two doctors filed in the case, Bates said if 'those doctors cannot provide these individuals the care they need (and deserve) within the scheduled and often limited time frame, there is a chance that some individuals will not receive treatment, including for severe, life-threatening conditions'. 'The public thus has a strong interest in avoiding these serious injuries to the public health,' he added. President Trump signed several controversial executive orders on his first in office, including orders that stated that the US recognizes only two sexes, male and female. He directed all federal agencies to remove 'all statements, policies, regulations, forms, communications, or other internal and external messages that promote or otherwise inculcate gender ideology'. Following the orders, the CDC and FDA took down numerous webpages, including research, datasets and recommendations on how physicians should treat sexually transmitted infections, as well as immunization guidance for adults. Trump's moves resulted in some webpages having their wording altered to fit the new admiration's orders, but certain datasets, such as from the CDC's youth risk behavior surveillance system (YRBSS), were removed entirely, according to reporting from CBS News. Visiting the CDC website will currently show a banner that says the website 'is being modified to comply with President Trump's executive orders'. Zachary Shelley, a lawyer for the advocacy group Public Citizen, which represented the group of 27,000 doctors and medical trainees, told USA Today that 'there is immense harm to the public' and 'there is increased risk of disease outbreak' if the webpages are not restored.
