● We do not see evidence of an improvement in the prevalence of depression and other measures of mental health, despite marked improvement in the pandemic in the United States since the winter.
Overall, 28% of those surveyed report levels of depression that would typically trigger a referral for evaluation and treatment; these numbers have diminished slightly compared to their peak of 30% in December 2020 but remain about three times those observed in the pre-COVID era, and elevated compared to the low of 25% in late June 2020. Rates of anxiety also remain elevated at 25%, but down from 28% in December 2020. Notably, 23% of respondents still endorse thoughts of suicide at least occasionally, similar to the rates observed in December.
● Young adults continue to be the hardest hit, with 42% meeting at least moderate depression severity criteria, followed by 25-44 year olds at 32% and 45-64 year olds at 20%. Respondents age 65 and older are the least impacted, on average, with 10% meeting criteria for moderate or greater depression.
● Parents with children at home have consistently experienced elevated rates of depression, with a gap of about 10% between parents and nonparents - currently 35% versus 25%. Some of this difference likely reflects age - that is, parents are generally younger than nonparents. The remainder may reflect such additional stresses as remote education.
● Respondents without college education continue to report higher levels of depression (30%) than their college educated counterparts (23%).
● Similarly, those earning less than $30,000 per year continue to demonstrate the highest rate of depression (35%) - but the pattern among those earning more is less clear, with lowest levels of depression reported among those earning $50-150,000 per year (23-24%).
● The rate of depression among Asian American respondents has increased since March 2021 from 22% to 27%; while these numbers have generally been lower than any other racial/ethnic group, they are now similar to all except Latino respondents.
