- A survey of 34 countries revealed that mental well-being continued to decline by 2021.
- The decline in mental health was smaller than that of 2019-2025.
- Trends in mental health mirror changing lockdown measures and COVID cases.
According to a report by Sapien Labs, mental health in English-speaking countries continued to decline in 2021. However, it was slower than the previous year.
This is the second annual Mental State of the World Report, the non-profit based in Washington DC with multi-continental reach. The original report only covered eight English-speaking countries. However, the most recent mental health survey was conducted in 34 other countries and translated into Spanish and French.
The survey is known as the Mental Health QuotientThe, assesses mental well-being across six categories: mood, outlook, motivation, cognition and adaptability, resilience and mind-body connection.
This system is an alternative to the International Classification of Diseases and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. These are both used to diagnose mental disorders all over the globe.
Tara Thiagarajan PhD, founder of Sapien, previously said to Insider, that the DSM (and similar tools) misses some of the symptoms caused by social stressesors like the pandemic and young people using social media.
According to the report, mental health suffered a sharp decline at the beginning of the pandemic and then declined gradually thereafter.
Sapien’s first survey of English-speaking nations was conducted by Sapien’s researchers. Mental Health Millions project2019
In those countries — the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, and South Africa — the survey responses reflected a smaller decline in mental health between 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019-2020. These countries’ average mental health scores fell by 3% between 2020 and 2021, while they experienced an 8% decrease in 2020.
That trend was mirrored by the proportion of respondents who reported feeling distressed or struggling, which increased from 14% in 2019 to 26% in 2020 to 30% in 2021.
All countries surveyed reported a decline in mental well-being. This was correlated with the stringency of lockdown and COVID-19 deaths and cases per million. The report found that the relationship between mental health and COVID-19 preventive measures was particularly significant in the 18-24 age bracket.
The open survey was completed by 223,000 participants between January 1st and December 31st 2021. The survey is online so the data only reflect the experiences of internet-enabled people. A number of studies have also shown that there is a Unconscious bias: Riskor mental health stigma, which could influence self-reported answers.