Americans rank mental health a top priority in maintaining well-being of families, country

Abstract

Leveraging its five-decade history of addressing the most pressing needs of children and families, Sesame Workshop — the global impact nonprofit behind TV's Sesame Street — partnered with The Harris Poll to shed light on the mental health crisis, launching a first-of-its-kind index on the state of well-being in America, an Aug. 13 news release from Sesame Workshop stated. The inaugural study found that Americans view the importance of mental health and education as on par with economic stability. When asked what we should prioritize for the future well-being of our country, Americans indicated that economic stability isn't enough, and is not alone as a top priority, but must be accompanied by investment in mental health and education. Parents are particularly affected: 1 in 3 said that their own, or their family's well-being, is negatively impacted by mental health issues, and 61% said that their family is still experiencing negative effects from the COVID-19 pandemic. Americans said getting honest about mental health and asking for help are critical steps to improving the state of well-being today. Sixty-seven percent of all Americans, with those numbers going up to 79% of parents, agreed, saying, “I wish my parents had been more honest with me about their mental health struggles,” suggesting that today's parents are looking to break the silence around mental health with their own children. The study also found stark generational differences around attitudes towards mental health: 82% of Gen Z and millennials agreed, saying, “I wish I had been taught more about how to understand and manage my emotions as a child,” compared with 65% of respondents from older generations. That number jumps even higher, to 84% of parents, signaling a major generational shift around the appreciation of speaking openly and honestly about emotional well-being from a young age.