Young adults in India, aged 18 to 34, rank 60th globally in mental health and well-being, according to the Global Mind Health 2025 report covering 84 countries. They have a Mind Health Quotient (MHQ) score of 33. In contrast, Indians aged 55 and above score 96, ranking 49th globally and aligning more closely with functional norms of mental health.
The findings, part of Sapien Labs’ Global Mind Project, are based on responses from 78,093 internet-enabled, literate individuals in India — including 29,594 in the 18–34 age group and 24,088 aged 55 and above. Globally, the study draws on data from over a million respondents across 84 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas. Researchers say the results reflect a structural, multi-year generational shift rather than a temporary post-pandemic effect.
“This is not simply a rise in anxiety or depression diagnoses,” says Tara Thiagarajan, founder and chief scientist at Sapien Labs, a non-profit that is led by experts in neuroscience, psychology and computational science. “What we are seeing globally — and in India — is a decline in core mental functioning among younger adults: the ability to regulate emotions, maintain focus, build stable relationships and recover from stress. This represents a fundamental shift in how younger generations are able to navigate life,” she adds. Challenges for them include holding a job and managing relationships with friends and family.
What is the MHQ score all about?
Researchers mapped the emotional, social, cognitive and physical capacities of participants that are key to managing and thriving in life, work and relationships. Taken together, they formed the MHQ score.
What are key takeaways?
Apart from the MHQ score, researchers ranked countries based on four behavioural factors — family bonds, which indicate social closeness and stability, spirituality, which gives a sense of meaning and connectedness, ultra-processed food consumption, which is a measure of pleasure-seeking and smartphone exposure in childhood, which helps track behavioural changes.
India ranks 28th on family closeness in both age groups. Ultra-processed food consumption among the 18-34 age group in India is 44%, compared to11% among those 55 years and above. India ranks 71st on first-time exposure to smartphones, the average age being 16.5 years. However, the report notes this age is falling in younger cohorts.
“India still retains certain protective cultural elements, particularly family bonds,” Thiagarajan says. “However, youth vulnerability mirrors global patterns. The structural forces affecting younger generations are common to modern, internet-enabled and literate populations across all countries,” she adds.
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How will the general shift in mental health play out?
“MHQ is linearly related to productivity. So, declines mean that there will be a substantial impact on economic activity. Second, the sub-measure of Social Self is negatively correlated with rates of violent crime. This metric is falling most steeply across generations and, therefore, predicts rising rates of violent crime worldwide. However, even beyond the broader societal implications as a whole, as parents we should be very concerned about the world we are creating for our children,” Thiagarajan writes in an email response.
This shift is arising due to various aspects of the modern world that are not aligned with our biology as human beings. “For example, the load of neurotoxins in our food system has been rising and today various toxic additives have even been introduced into baby foods to add colour, flavour and shelf life. These likely degrade the capacity of the nervous system (which includes the brain) for control and regulation of thoughts and emotions. Second, smartphones earlier in childhood are increasingly putting the development of children into the hands of algorithms that do not care for their well-being, while parents get busier and interact less with their kids,” says Thiagarajan.
Family closeness and spirituality, which are key factors in maintaining positive mind health, are in sharp decline in younger generations across the world. For example, in India only 64% of the 18-34 group are close to their families compared to 78% of those above 55.
Other factors, like physical activity and time in nature, have not been covered in this report.
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