From Gallup Education, January 29, 2021 by Dr. Frank Shushok and Tom Matson
If it's true that one important indicator of a flourishing society is a healthy workforce, which is dependent upon healthy individuals, wellbeing matters tremendously -- not only for the health of young people but also for the future wellbeing of our society. If it's also true that the most prolific workforce generators are our institutions of higher education, then we have an opportunity like never before to give college students the skills to create a new reality.
Yet, that new reality begins with a tremendous challenge. Global healthcare company Cigna conducted a national study of more than 20,000 U.S. adults to explore the impact of loneliness among different generations. Not only did almost half of Americans report feeling alone or left out, but Generation Z -- those born in 1997 or later -- scored highest for loneliness.
In addition, since 2001, Gallup has asked Americans as part of its November Health and Healthcare survey to say whether their own mental or emotional wellbeing is excellent, good, only fair or poor. Americans' latest assessment of their mental health is worse than it has been at any point in the last two decades. U.S. adults aged 18 to 29 rating their mental health as "excellent" shifted from 37% in 2019 to 28% in 2020, representing a nine-percentage-point drop and the lowest figure among any age group.
2020 brought solitude and loneliness like never before -- it was the kind of year that reminded us why former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy once declared poor emotional wellbeing and loneliness a public health crisis.
Yet, a daunting challenge can't delay the choice to act. Crisis often precedes development, yielding unique opportunities. And now, more than ever before, higher education has been given the opportunity for a new beginning. The task at hand is acknowledging "what is" and dreaming about "what could be." It's time for higher education to lead a cultural transformation with wellbeing as the foundation for advancing the outcomes we desire, for not only our students but also our world. Gallup research shows that graduates who were emotionally supported during college -- who had a mentor who encouraged their hopes and dreams and professors who cared about them as people and made them excited about learning -- are three times as likely to have thriving wellbeing after college.
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