The young have surpassed the middle-aged in having the worst mental health, according to a recent paper by economics professor David Blanchflower titled “The declining mental health of the young and the global disappearance of the unhappiness hump shape in age.” The study will play a key role in an upcoming Oct. 26 to 28 symposium at Dartmouth on the mental health crisis in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme. The Dartmouth sat down with Blanchflower to discuss the findings of his study and their implications.
What are the primary findings of the study?
DB: Previously, there’s the hump shape in the despair versus age graph that represents the midlife crisis. The hump shape has been present in the data for the last 25 years. Then, around 2015, the left-hand side picked up. Nothing after the age of 45 has moved. The left-hand side is just lifted up. So now you have a downward slope in despair. It means the youngest have the worst mental health, and then mental health improves with age. Then, the United Nations called me up and commissioned me to go and write and think about Africa, Latin America, etc. Everywhere I went, I found the same thing, mostly amongst the computer-savvy.
What are the potential causes for this phenomenon?
DB: Smartphones and the internet in schools are clearly the primary explanation. Disproportionate time spent on the phone takes people away from beneficial activities such as hiking, dancing, swimming and team sports. Studies in Spain, Germany, France, the US and the United Kingdom showed that as broadband comes, the mental health of the young declines. It’s not the only answer, and there are going to be country-specific stories. But the problem starts around 2015, applies disproportionately to the young — and especially to young women — and is global. The trends for men and women are the same.
Do you see this phenomenon at Dartmouth?
DB: I have written papers, and from the data we see that about a third of Dartmouth students are suffering from depression. We also have data which suggests that half the incoming class of freshmen women in America say every day of their lives they feel sad and hopeless. I think the answer is that the world seems a tougher place for Dartmouth students than it did. We’re relatively better than other elite institutions because we are a community. But it still sucks.
What are the potential solutions to this problem?
DB: This is the great dilemma. Some talk about taking smartphones away from schools, but we know that would be a major issue amongst college students and with young workers. Additionally, say we decide that a quarter of the student body is in trouble. On God’s green Earth, I can’t hire therapists for 1,250 people. We need a solution for 30 million people, to scale up to a phenomenon that’s become global.
At the symposium, we’re bringing the United Nations and the U.S. surgeons general to Dartmouth to think about what to do. We’re probably going to come back endless times over the next decade. This is central to College President Sian Leah Beilock’s agenda to try and raise the well being of the students and our family.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
