Young people are faring better in countries like Ghana, Nigeria and Kenya than they are in the U.S., a new Sapien Labs study of 1 million people ages 18 and older in 84 countries found.
Researchers based their results on what they refer to as “mind health,” a metric reflecting people’s ability to function in daily life based on cognitive, emotional and physical abilities. They found that on a mind health quotient (MHQ) scale of -100 (distressed) to 200 (thriving), 18-to 34-year-olds in Ghana scored 69, while young Americans scored 36.
The top five countries for young people’s mind health were Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Tanzania.
When it comes to well-being and the ability to function, a country’s “wealth was not an indicator at all,” says Tara Thiagarajan, founder and chief scientist of Sapien Labs.
Here’s why they found young people in the U.S. are doing so much worse, and what policymakers and parents can do to improve their ability to function.
‘There’s less of those connected bonds’ within family in the U.S.
Sapien Labs identified four major contributors to higher mind health:
- Strong family bonds
- A sense of spirituality
- Delayed access to smartphones
- Lower consumption of ultra-processed foods
In most categories, practices in the U.S. are counter to what would help young people flourish.
When it comes to family bonds, the American value system is highly individualistic and emphasizes professional and financial success, says Erica Rozmid, clinical psychologist and founder and director of the mental health center the Clarity CBT and DBT Center.
“Parents are working long hours,” often as a result of financial stress, she says. Unlike in other countries, “there’s less of those connected bonds within their family home system.”
Those weaker bonds continue later in life, too. Less than half of 18-to 34-year-olds in the U.S. talk on the phone or video chat with their parents at least a few times a week, according to the Pew Research Center.
Whereas the average age of first receiving a smartphone in Tanzania is 18, according to Sapien Labs, the average age of first getting one in the U.S. is just under 13.
Depending on what a child is doing on that phone, there’s evidence that social media, specifically, “does negatively impact mental health when it comes to social comparisons or doom scrolling,” says Rozmid.
Certain games can also have addictive qualities that rewire a young person’s brain. Some kids who play “lose the ability to regulate themselves and their emotions because then they rely on these phones to do it,” she says. Some of these effects can last into young adulthood, research has found.
Finally, ultra-processed foods comprise more than 50% of U.S. adults’ energy intake, according to a study published in the January 2025 issue of the Journal of Nutrition. Ultra-processed foods are associated with increased depression and diminished cognitive control, according to Sapien Labs.
As far as spirituality in the U.S. is concerned, 70% of Americans do consider themselves spiritual or say spirituality is very important to their lives, according to Pew. “I’ve done a lot of research in suicidality and protectors for suicide,” says Rozmid, “and a huge one is spirituality.”
‘Even just taking one small change can make a difference’
What can policymakers do to improve some of the conditions in the U.S.? “I think [phone] bans in schools is a great place to start,” says Thiagarajan, adding that “that’s where a lot of the peer pressure to have the phone comes from in the first place.”
A majority of states in the country have enacted full or partial bell-to-bell phone bans, according to the Anxious Generation Movement.
And “the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] needs to wake up and start regulating food,” says Thiagarajan. The amount of chemicals in ultra-processed American foods has an impact on mind health as well, she says.
As far as what parents can do to help their growing kids, “be gentle with yourself,” says Rozmid. America’s individualistic culture doesn’t make it easy to prioritize family, she says.
But ask yourself, “how can you increase connected bonds in the home?” she says. “How can you take a pause before you give a smartphone device? How can you cook a meal together with your family once a week?”
“Even just taking one small change can make a difference,” she says.
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