Report: Nonbinary People Have Worst Mental Health of All Genders

As the COVID-19 pandemic, and a number of other social conflicts and tensions press on, it’s a tough time for maintaining positive mental health, especially for queer folks. Sapien Labs, a nonprofit research organization focused on tracking changes in the mind and brain, is shedding further light on the conversation with the release of its second Annual Mental State of the World Report (MSW). The report notes a number of findings, notably that nonbinary folks reported the worst mental health of all genders.

In general, the study shows men had slightly higher mental wellbeing than women, with a gap most prominent among young adults 18 to 24. Across all age groups, the gap was highest in Latin America and smallest in the Core Anglosphere (The U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia). Nonbinary people had the poorest mental wellbeing, with 51 percent distressed or struggling at a clinical level.

The report found that the poorest wellbeing overall was in the Core Anglosphere, while Latin American and Continental European countries reported the best mental health overall. The Core Anglosphere scored lower than all regions in regard to the social self—how we see ourselves and our ability to form and maintain strong, stable relationships with others—along with mood and outlook.

The MSW also found that the decline in mental health among young people is a global phenomenon, with nearly half of young people (44 percent) with mental health issues in the “distressed” or “struggling” ranges, compared to only 7 percent of those 65 and older. Just 19 percent of the 18 to 24 group had “thriving” or “succeeding” mental wellbeing scores. This starkly contrasts with studies prior to 2010, where young adults usually scored the highest on various scales of wellbeing and happiness. The MSW report highlights the rapid growth of mobile phone and internet use as one consistent trend across all countries after 2010.

The report also found that education and employment are key factors of mental wellbeing, with those scores increasing systematically with high levels of education in all regions of the world. The same held true for wellbeing among those employed compared to those who are unemployed or unable to work. The difference was higher among the Core Anglosphere in comparison to the other global regions.

The report notes that the mental wellbeing gap between older and young generations was the greatest (30 percent) in comparison to any other dimension, from education, employment, gender, or country-to-country, warranting “active and urgent attention.”

Sapien Labs Founder and Chief Scientist Tara Thiagarajan says that the results of this year’s report “quite honestly surprised” the team.

“It is the first view of the magnitude of impact on mental wellbeing of a system that relentlessly sorts us into performers and non-performers in the service of economic growth and connects us digitally but disconnects us physically and emotionally,” Thiagarajan says. “This data makes clear that, to nurture the human spirit, we need a new paradigm.”

Photo courtesy of Sapien Labs