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Nearly one in five young adults in the United States reported feeling anxious every day in 2024, up from 15% in 2020. Over the same period, the odds of receiving an anxiety diagnosis as well as use of prescription anxiety medication each rose by roughly a third.

The overall increase in anxiety varied by race and ethnicity, sex and sexual orientation, according to a new study by George Mason University researcher Melissa Villodas. The research found higher rates of anxiety among women and lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) young adults than among their peers. Racial and ethnic differences were less clear-cut, varying by whether researchers looked at anxiety symptoms, diagnoses or medication use and by sex and sexual orientation.

Published in the American Journal of Public Health, the study explored anxiety among nearly 11,000 U.S. adults ages 18 to 25. While most research considers demographic characteristics separately, Villodas and her colleagues studied them in combination to reveal differences that might be overlooked.

"Rather than assuming that all young adults experience anxiety in the same way, these findings underscore the importance of considering the multiple social identities and contexts that shape experiences with anxiety," said Villodas, an assistant professor in the Department of Social Work at the College of Public Health.

Young adulthood is a vulnerable phase for the onset of mental health problems, and anxiety was already rising in this age group before the COVID-19 pandemic.

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