AP News: “We Have Reason To Be Worried” About Young Adults, Says Prof. Hahm

Associate Professor Hyeouk Chris Hahm tells AP News how results from her nationwide survey of young adults during COVID-19 signals a need for increased mental health support.

Excerpted from “For emerging adults, pandemic serves up unique challenges” by Holly Ramer, Associated Press:

At Boston University’s School of Social Work, Hyeouk Chris Hahm has been conducting national surveys to measure how the pandemic is playing out among young people. Emerging adults have not been well studied in the past, she says, but it’s important to capture what they’re going through now because they make up a significant chunk of the current and future workforce.

“We have reason to be worried about it, and we have reason to provide more support for these young adults,” she says. “There are good times and bad times, and when you are graduating in a bad time, that can actually have an impact on your earnings for the next 10 years.”

Nearly half of the participants report depression, anxiety and loneliness, she says, and an open-ended question that allowed participants to express anything on their minds produced a torrent of negativity.

“We didn’t think so many people would pour out honestly how they feel,” she says. “People really needed to vent someplace or somewhere. They want to be heard.” […]

Read the AP News article here.