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Featured this week on
air at CNN and online at cnn.com, the partnership survey provides an
in-depth look at Americans’ views and experiences around mental health,
including those who personally report the most difficulty and those with
direct family experiences involving severe crises.
The survey reveals how deeply mental health issues affect families, with
half (51%) of all adults nationwide saying that their families have
experienced a severe mental health crisis. This includes about one in
four who say that a family member received in-person treatment because
they posed a threat to themselves or others (28%) and that a family
member engaged in cutting or other self-harming behaviors (26%).
Significant shares also report that a family member had a drug overdose
that required an emergency room visit or hospitalization (21%);
experienced homelessness due to mental health problems (16%); died by
suicide (16%); or ran away from home due to mental health problems (14%).
About one in ten (8%) say that a family member had a severe eating
disorder that required hospitalization or in-person treatment.
Among those whose
families faced a mental health crisis, nearly half (46%) say it had a
major impact on their own mental health, and nearly as many (42%) say it
had a major impact on their family relationships. One in five (22%) say
it had a major impact on their family’s finances.
One in Five Adults Rate Their Own Mental Health as “Only Fair” or
“Poor”
When asked about their
own mental health and emotional well-being, most of the public rates
their situation positively, though about one in five (22%) rate their
situation as “only fair” or “poor.”
In addition to younger adults, lower-income adults (31%); those who
identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (36%); and those in
fair or poor physical health (48%) are more likely than their
counterparts to rate their own mental health negatively.
A third (33%) of adults say they “always” or “often” feel anxious, while
somewhat smaller shares say they “always” or “often” feel depressed (21%)
or lonely (21%). Those who identify as LGBT are among the groups most
likely to say they always or often feel anxious (60%), depressed (40%),
and lonely (32%).
When asked about major
sources of stress in their lives, four in ten (39%) adults cite their
personal finances, making it the top stressor ahead of politics and
current events (32%), relationships with family and friends (24%), and
work (24%). Personal finances are especially worrisome for those in
lower-income households - six in ten (61%) cite them as a major source of
stress.
Overall, about a quarter (27%) of all adults say that they did not get
mental health care or medication that they thought they needed in the
past year. Among those in lower-income families, a third (34%) say they
didn’t get needed mental health care in the past year.
Among those who did not get care, equal shares say that the main reason
was because they could not afford the cost (20%), they were too busy or
could not get the time off work (20%), or they were afraid or embarrassed
to seek care (20%). Other main reasons include not being able to find a
provider (13%), not knowing how to find services (7%), and their
insurance wouldn’t cover it (8%).
Most Adults Have Not Heard About New 988 National Suicide Prevention
Hotline
While most people say
they know who they would call or how to seek help in a mental health
crisis, more than a quarter (27%) do not, including even larger shares of
people without health insurance (47%) and Hispanic adults (34%).
In July, the U.S. transitioned the phone number for the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline to a federally mandated three-digit number, 988, that
is intended to be easier for people to remember.
One month in, most adults (56%) say they have heard “nothing at all”
about the new 988 number with an additional one in five (21%) saying they
have heard “a little.” Only about one in four adults say they have heard
either “a lot” (7%) or “some” (16%) about the new 988 mental health
hotline that will connect people with mental health services.
Despite the low levels of awareness, when informed about the new hotline,
a large majority (85%) say that they would be at least “somewhat” likely
to call the number if they or a loved one were experiencing a mental
health crisis. This includes large majorities of Black, White, and
Hispanic adults.
The public’s interest in
988 may in part reflect mixed perceptions about the usefulness of calling
911 during a mental-health crisis. While about half (52%) think that
calling 911 would “help the situation” if they or a loved one was having
a mental health crisis, about a quarter (27%) of the public say it would
“do more to hurt the situation.”
Other findings include:
- Nearly
half of parents (47%) say the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted
their child’s mental health, including at least four in ten parents
across racial and ethnic groups. Almost one in five (17%) say it had
a “major” impact.
- Many
also are concerned about teenagers’ mental health, with at least
eight in ten adults and parents saying they are worried about that
depression (85% of adults, 85% of parents), alcohol or drug use
(84%, 80%), and anxiety (82%, 83%) are negatively impacting
teenagers’ lives.
- Among
those who rate their own mental health negatively, most (57%) say
they are not comfortable talking to friends and family about it.
They cite a range of reasons for their reluctancy, including
privacy, shame or stigma, lack of understanding or compassion, and
fear of being judged.
The poll was jointly
developed and analyzed by CNN and the Kaiser Family Foundation’s polling
and survey research group and was conducted July 28-August 9, 2022 among
a random national probability-based sample of 2,004 adults ages 18 and
older, including 398 parents. Interviews were conducted online and on the
phone, in English and Spanish, by SSRS of Media, Pa. The results from the
full survey have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage
points. Each partner bears responsibility for its editorial content about
the poll.
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