By: Michael B. Friedman, LMSW Public Policy Advocate
Studies tracking psychological distress during the pandemic show that young adults are more likely to be struggling emotionally than are older adults. No wonder. Their lives have been disrupted just at a time in life when they are making the transition from the common turmoil of adolescence to the beginnings of personal stability.
For young adults, the fundamental developmental tasks are building intimate relationships and finding work that will enable them to support themselves and their families while hopefully also providing a source of meaning and self-esteem.
The pandemic made it far more difficult than normal to pursue relationships, complete education, and find work that is stable and has a future. So, it is little wonder that young adults are distressed. Little wonder, too, why many of them ignored public health warnings that they needed to live in isolation as much as possible.
But that is only part of the story. Here’s another part.
Justine (a pseudonym) was a junior in college when the pandemic hit. She had to leave her school on the West Coast and return to live with her parents on the East Coast. She was not happy about it. She did not want to live with her parents, let alone to shelter-in-place with them. She missed her friends. She missed campus life. She missed being in class with other students. She missed partying. She was distressed about the uncertainty of her future. Sometimes she woke up in the middle of the night agitated and unable to get back to sleep.
But, despite her emotional distress, she got a summer job helping a social advocate prepare position papers. She volunteered with a local organization that helped homeless people. After the murder of George Floyd, she went on demonstrations, wearing a mask and trying to stay at a safe distance. She revived a relationship with a high school boyfriend. After a while, she got her own apartment with roommates who were also managing to make lives for themselves despite the pandemic.
Justine is just one of millions of young people who, at the same time they were dealing with emotional distress, found meaning and satisfaction in social and political activism (both on the left and on the right), work, volunteerism, online education, military service, virtual relationships, and so forth. They have found ways not just to cope but to make the best of their circumstances. They have had experiences that will contribute to the development of the skills, strengths, and relationships needed to grow into psychologically successful adults.