A new study has revealed that nearly one in three Gen Z Hongkongers experience anxiety symptoms, the highest rate across all age groups. Researchers are urging schools to prioritise emotional education and resilience training to address this growing mental health concern.
The study also found that people aged between 17 and 27 had the lowest scores in emotional regulation and positive life outlook compared with other age groups. The research was conducted by Hong Kong Shue Yan University and four other institutions.
Professor Catherine Tang So-kum, a distinguished professor of psychology at the university, said on Tuesday that Gen Z Hongkongers were the most severely affected by anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress symptoms among all generational groups.
“Gen Z is 1.74 times more likely to report anxiety symptoms compared with other generations. They are also 1.41 times more likely to report depression symptoms than other generations,” she said.
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Tang said the first phase of the study focused on the symptoms participants faced, and the second part, which would be released in two years’ time, would delve into the causes of those mental health issues.
“There are many reasons and one of them is that … Gen Z is a younger generation and they may be more open to talking about themselves. They may be more willing to disclose to others about their emotional well-being,” she said.
She added that factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic, politics and suicides would be taken into account in the second part of the study.
Shue Yan University, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Baptist University, Lingnan University and the Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong surveyed 10,136 people aged 17 to 78 between 2023 and 2024.
They were divided into four age groups: baby boomers aged 60 to 74; Gen X aged 44 to 59; Gen Y aged 28 to 43; and Gen Z aged 17 to 27. The number of participants in each group ranged from 1,352 to 3,361.
The findings showed that 21.9 per cent of participants reported stress, 20.7 per cent had anxiety, and 17.4 per cent had depression.
Gen Z had the biggest proportion of participants with stress, anxiety and depression symptoms, with the figure hitting 22.8 per cent, 30.5 per cent and 22.3 per cent, respectively.
Researchers also looked into traumas encountered by different generations, with 53.1 per cent of respondents having been through such events before. Gen Z respondents generally had fewer such experiences compared with others.
They found that the top three traumatic events experienced by the respondents in the past year were witnessing death or injury, the loss of loved ones or divorce, and physical violence.
Some 13.9 per cent of Gen Z respondents reported that they had encountered physical violence in their lives, the highest rates among all groups, followed by Gen Y.
In the past year, 12 per cent and 9.4 per cent of boomers and Gen Z respondents had come across physical violence, also the highest compared with all groups.
Among Gen Z respondents who had been traumatised in the past year, 56.5 per cent and 44.7 per cent reported anxiety and depression symptoms respectively, the most common among all groups.
The study pointed out four factors that could mitigate the impact of trauma – individual resilience, emotional regulation, family resilience and positive life outlook.
On a scale of one to 100, the scores for emotional regulation among all generations ranged between 63.6 and 73.2, and for positive life outlook, from 65.1 to 70, with Gen Z scoring the lowest.
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Tang said while the study findings were similar to those of overseas research, they reflected the need to incorporate emotional education and resilience training into the school curriculum and work settings.
“In school … we focus on curriculum and skills training, and there is relatively less attention to how we understand, are aware of, how we monitor and how we manage our emotions in different situations interacting with different people,” she said.
“It is time to reflect upon, even for small children, maybe we should be focusing on different types of emotions and how to express them appropriately or regulate them in a way that is socially acceptable.”
She said Hong Kong lacked long-term and structured emotional training, and relevant courses were mostly provided to people who were already suffering from mental health issues.
“We advocate for early prevention and early intervention,” Tang said. “Everyone should have a sense of preparedness, meaning when there are adversities and traumas, what we can do to cope with them.”
