--- title: More Than 90% of Generation Z Is Stressed Out description: The American Psychological Association's 2018 Stress in America report shows that stress and mental health issues are common in Gen Z. canonical: https://time.com/5437646/gen-z-stress-report/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-10-30T04:01:58.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:33.414Z article:section: Health og:title: More Than 90% of Generation Z Is Stressed Out. And Gun Violence Is Partly To Blame og:description: According to a new survey og:url: https://time.com/5437646/gen-z-stress-report/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6aa4bd04cfdc53a1/69893db2bc6cfc75513e74af/chewed-pencil.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4288 og:image:height: 2412 og:image:alt: Broken Chewed Pencil On Notepad og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: More Than 90% of Generation Z Is Stressed Out. And Gun Violence Is Partly To Blame twitter:description: According to a new survey twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6aa4bd04cfdc53a1/69893db2bc6cfc75513e74af/chewed-pencil.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # More Than 90% of Generation Z Is Stressed Out. And Gun Violence Is Partly To Blame > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=392b89f7-0913-4d3b-9316-bc2f89f8ae1c&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Guns in America: Behind the Making of the JRxTIME Cover [Watch (HLS stream): Guns in America: Behind the Making of the JRxTIME Cover](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/P13NV3dg.m3u8) (6:47)  _Published 2018-10-25. Guns in America: Behind the Making of the JRxTIME Cover_  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Oct 30, 2018 4:01 AM UTC  Jamesmcq24—Getty Images/iStockphoto  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Oct 30, 2018 4:01 AM UTC Gun violence, political turmoil and personal problems are causing significant stress among America’s teenagers and youngest adults, according to a new report. Members of Gen Z — people ages 15 to 21 — reported the [worst mental health](http://time.com/5271244/major-depression-diagnosis-spike/) of any generation included in the American Psychological Association’s [annual](http://time.com/5005076/stress-anxiety-symptoms/) Stress in America report, which was based on almost 3,500 interviews with people ages 18 and older, plus 300 interviews with teenagers ages 15 to 17. Just 45% of those in Gen Z reported “excellent” or “very good” mental health, compared to 56% of Millennials, 51% of Gen X individuals, 70% of Boomers and 74% of adults older than 73\. Of the Gen Z respondents, 27% called their mental health “fair” or “poor” — and stress seems to be largely to blame, with 91% of Gen Z adults saying they had felt physical or emotional symptoms, such as depression or anxiety, associated with stress. Stress levels were high across generations. The average reported level across age groups was a 4.9 out of 10\. But while older adults tended to fall below this line — the averages among Boomers and older adults were 4.1 and 3.3, respectively — the opposite was true for younger generations. Gen X had an average stress level of 5.1, and Millennials had the highest overall, at 5.7\. Gen Z fell in the middle, at 5.3, but in many categories, the youngest age group felt more stress than older peers. Gun violence seemed to be a particularly large source of stress for the school-aged generation, with 75% of those in Gen Z calling mass shootings a significant source of stress. Seventy-two percent said the same of school shootings, and 21% of Gen Z students said the thought of a shooting occurring at their school was a constant or frequent source of stress. Their parents agree: 74% of parents included in the survey called school shootings a significant source of stress. Other issues in the news, from [rising suicide rates](http://time.com/5304227/suicide-on-the-rise/) to [sexual harassment](http://time.com/5401638/silence-breakers-one-year-later-2/) to [migrant family separation](http://time.com/5393975/family-separation-policy-byron-xol/), also sparked more stress among Gen Z individuals than those in other generations, according to the report. Sixty-two percent called [rising suicide rates](http://time.com/5296967/kids-injury-deaths-suicide/) a source of stress, compared to 44% of adults overall; 53% said the same of reported sexual harassment and assault, compared to 39% of adults overall; and 57% were stressed by family separations, compared to 45% of adults overall. Despite these national issues, just 54% of Gen Z adults said they planned to vote in the 2018 midterm elections, lower than any other age group. (Still, there are signs voter turnout in this age group is increasing; other [recent research](http://iop.harvard.edu/spring-2018-national-youth-poll) suggests that significantly more young people will vote this year than in 2010 and 2014.) But it’s not just the news that’s bringing young adults down. Work, finances and health-related concerns all stressed out more Gen Z adults than adults overall, the report says. Money was the most common source of stress, affecting 81% of Gen Z adults and 64% of adults overall. Just as concerning as the prevalence of stress was the struggle to manage it. Though 37% of Gen Z individuals — more than any other generation — reported receiving help from a mental health professional, only half said they felt they did enough to manage their stress. Nearly three-quarters also said they could have used more emotional support over the past year. Other recent surveys have shown that [levels of loneliness](http://time.com/5261181/young-americans-are-lonely/) are high among young people, which may contribute to the stress epidemic. [Research](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2921311/) has shown that a [strong social network](http://time.com/5159867/adult-friendships-loneliness/) can help mitigate the effects of stress and improve mental health overall. Social media doesn’t seem to be helping, either — while about half said it was a source of support, another 45% said [social media made them feel judged](http://time.com/5437607/smartphones-teens-mental-health/), and 38% said it made them feel bad about themselves. Having difficulty coping with stress wasn’t just a Gen Z trait. About 20% of all survey respondents said they didn’t do enough to manage their stress. There is a bright spot, however: Despite high levels of stress and frustration with the national and political climate, 75% of all respondents said they feel hopeful about their future. ## Transcript The first days of shoot were in St. Louis. And I have to say that I've never seen that much weapon in my life. It was a whole new universe to me. We're here doing a very special mural for the cover of Time Magazine. It's a metaphor of what's happening in the US. In France we don't have any relation with guns, and so I'm discovering the whole issue all together. Hi. How are you. I'm good. I'm JR. [ UNKNOWN ] Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. I love your hat. A lot of people do, I have to travel armed just to protect the hat. Yeah, I'm sure. I cannot wait to start seeing it all come together, and then hearing what everybody had to say. You can put it back, and back to position. I assumed it's gonna give us a spectacular image at the end. And three, two, one, and cut. I think I was about nine, or ten, years old when I heard the first gunshots in our neighborhood. I personally will not touch a gun. It is a death machine. It took me getting shot in a small Southwest Virginia French class to realize that gun violence can happen to us anywhere and that we, in fact, have done very little to keep guns away from From dangerous people. We must stop killing each other. Great, and then hold the position. We find ourselves emersed in the gun violence ocean, and we're drowning in it. Just because it doesn't happen to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen. We have very lax gun laws. And that is scary. And I want these words out there, because these are words that need to be heard. There werr people that just expected that somehow my views on guns would change. That horrible incident only solidified my strong beliefs that you want law- abiding citizens to be able to defend themselves and others because Cuz there are bad guys out there. I think it depends on who's holding the gun, and how you want that bullet to penetrate before you fire the gun. We're all human beings, and at the end of the day we all wanna make it home. [ MUSIC ] When I hear of a school shooting, or if I hear of somebody that got raped or murdered I'm just like appalled thinking about what happened to them. And it's like, I wish they could protect themselves. It's disheartening as a gun owner and as an NRA member, to continually get bullied. I think it allows people who don't agree with the gun issue to really hate me, when I don't feel like I'm hateable. And we're gonna do it one more time. One, two, three and action [ SOUND ] I look good. You look good that's for sure. I look intense. Yeah. Like I'm ready for something. You can close your eyes and then I'm gonna say look The moment that changed my perspective on becoming a gun owner was the moment that I saw and heard the fear in the voice Of the children that I have given birth to. [ MUSIC ] All I have was this to protect them. I think the firearm in the world, it's here, it's a necessary evil. An armed society is essential to maintaining a free society. [ MUSIC ] All the you know is dangerous. Men, black men in America with a gun. [ MUSIC ] The second minute they shown as day by day they did it's not applied to us. [ MUSIC ] It was never meant for us. [ MUSIC ] I'm trans, I'm Republican, I'm originally from rural Mississippi, I live in San Francisco. I'm pro- free speech and pro- guns, I'm just not what people expect to see. If you put this one we almost can see the both of them, no? People are astounded by it. They don't hear about teenage girls Shooting guns. I have a whole shelf in my room that is now occupied by ammo, and gun gear. And so I don't even think I can imagine my life without competitive shooting. Wow, cool. And now look back at the x. [ MUSIC ] I agreed to be part of this project because I think it's important to represent the middle. In 2018, the middle is a very difficult place to be. I'm a trauma surgeon. We have patients who are shot on a regular basis. I also been a lifetime shooter so yeah, I made a debate within myself. I love guns and I hate gun shot wounds. [ MUSIC ] This project seems to me a really neat and innovative way to force people to have a conversation about first the things we agree on On and you know maybe the political routes to try to settle our differences on the parts that we don't agree on. To watch students themselves say, okay you adults. You know, you've messed things up some, let us take over, was completely inspiring to me. This is what democracy looks like. We will not be silent. Exactly, up, hold it, hold it. Stop killing people. That's cool, right? I'm gonna mark it five which means it's gonna get on the cover. Welcome. My God! Wow! Wow! Since we knew that you were gonna be doing This we've been researching all the things you've done in your young life, amazing. Thank you. And it's a pleasure to meet you. This is going to be their country. Their going to be running it for me someday and I think that adults need to listen to our youth a lot more. They're more informed and aware of things then I certaintly was at their age. [ MUSIC ] It's very fascinating going through the process because the debate it is not necessarily where you think it is. And the walls and the barriers are not necessarily where you thought they were. [ MUSIC ] Those people that are now Part of this mural. They maybe don't know it, but they are linked to each other, because they'll always be part of the same mural. Even if they don't share the same ideas. [ MUSIC ] I really hope that they will like to really listen to each other. And I hope people will join this conversation. [ BLANK_AUDIO ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5437646/gen-z-stress-report/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5437646/gen-z-stress-report/"},"headline":"More Than 90% of Generation Z Is Stressed Out. 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