Caring for the Caregivers

摘要: Teens’ mental health challenges have drawn a huge amount of attention over the last year, with researchers and pundits pointing to many possible causes or contributing factors, including social media, sleep deprivation, achievement pressure, and political hostility and polarization. 1 But left largely untold is the story of those who are commonly central in teens’ lives—their parents and caregivers. 2 Parents’ and teens’ emotional health is deeply interwoven, and our data indicate that parents are suffering anxiety and depression at about the same rates as teens. It would be just as right to sound the alarm about parents’ mental health as about teens’ mental health. In December 2022, we conducted two nationally representative surveys in the US, one survey with teens and young adults and another with parents or caregivers. While 18% of teens reported suffering anxiety, about 20% of mothers and 15% of fathers reported anxiety. While 15% of teens reported depression, about 16% of mothers and 10% of fathers did, too. According to estimates based on our parent data, over 1/3 of teens had at least one parent who reported anxiety or depression. Almost 40% of teens also reported being at least “somewhat worried” about the mental health of at least one of their parents.