KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 9): Forty-two per cent of America’s young-but-cynical Generation Z are dealing with a mental health condition, according to a new survey.

The analysis by Harmony Healthcare IT released recently suggested tens of millions of Gen Z young adults started dealing with a mental health problem in the months immediately following the start of the global Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020.

Harmony Healthcare IT, a data management firm that works with health data, surveyed more than 1,000 Gen Z (aged 18 to 24) about their mental health and concerns about their generation’s future.

The Indiana-based data management company’s survey highlighted a staggering percentage of young adults diagnosed with anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during the pandemic.

The poll showed that three-quarters of these Americans, all under the age of 25, say the pandemic had negatively impacted their mental health, with many citing loneliness and uncertainty about the future.

Eighty-five per cent of Gen Z respondents say they are worried about the future in general. The vast majority cite their personal finances, the economy, the environment, and the country’s increasingly polarised political landscape as top concerns.

Nearly 90% of Gen Z respondents believe their generation is not set up for success, and 75% feel they are at a disadvantage in comparison to previous generations (like baby boomers or Gen X), who are at least 42 years old in 2022.

The latest poll portrays Gen Z as overwhelmingly cynical about the post-pandemic world, and what role they may one day play in it.