This week’s Barna Minute episode takes a close look at the emotional well-being of U.S. Gen Z.

In Barna’s newest series, The Open Generation, the emotional climate of teens around the world was analyzed closely. Data in the The Open Generation: United States show that U.S. teens in particular experience higher levels of anxiety, uncertainty and stress than their global peers. They also experience lower levels of confidence, security and a sense of being believed in or cared for by those around them. Trends in the data also show that U.S. teens’ emotional health tends to lessen as they grow older.

Looking at U.S. teens (13–17) and young adults (18–22) more closely by age, we see the details of the emotional tides of Gen Z—which, with the onset of adulthood, begin to ebb. Around the ages of 17 and 18, a sense of security and optimism becomes more tempered. Simultaneously, negative emotional health measures climb.