- A survey across 34 countries found overall mental wellbeing continued to decline in 2021.
- The decline was less steep than the drop in mental health between 2019 and 2020.
- Mental health trends mirrored evolving lockdown measures, as well as COVID cases and deaths.
Mental health continued to decline across English-speaking countries in 2021, albeit at a slower rate than the previous year, according to a global report out from Sapien Labs this week.
The study is the second annual Mental State of the World Report from the non-profit, which is based in Washington, DC, with a multi-continental reach. While the first report focused on eight English-speaking countries, the latest mental health survey was translated to Spanish, French, and Arabic and conducted across 34 countries.
The survey, known as the Mental Health Quotient, evaluates mental wellbeing across six different categories: mood and outlook, the social self, motivation, cognition, adaptability and resilience, and the mind-body connection.
The system offers an alternative to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International Classification of Diseases, which are used to diagnose mental health disorders around the world.
Sapien founder Tara Thiagarajan, PhD, previously told Insider that the DSM and similar tools miss some of the symptoms brought on by social stressors, such as the pandemic and social media use among young people.
Mental health declined sharply at the start of the pandemic, then less so, according to the report
The researchers had the most comprehensive data for the English-speaking countries originally surveyed for Sapien's Mental Health Million project in 2019.
In those countries — the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Singapore, and South Africa — the survey responses reflected a smaller decline in mental health between 2020 and 2021 compared to 2019-2020. The average reported mental health score across those countries decreased by 3% in 2021, compared to an 8% decline in 2020.
That trend was mirrored by the proportion of respondents who reported feeling distressed or struggling, which increased from 14% in 2019 to 26% in 2020 to 30% in 2021.
Across all countries surveyed, the reported declines in mental wellbeing corresponded with the overall stringency of lockdown measures as well as COVID-19 cases and deaths per million. The correlation between mental health and COVID-19 prevention measures was especially significant for the 18-24 age group, according to the report.
A total of 223,000 respondents completed the open survey between January 1 and December 31, 2021. Given that the survey is available online, the data solely reflect the experience of internet-enabled populations. Studies have also found a risk of unconscious bias or mental health stigma that could skew self-reported answers.