Why are America’s young adults so susceptible to mental illness?

Almost 20 percent of America’s adult population—more than 45 million people—reportedly had some form of mental disorder last year, and more young adults were considered mentally ill than any other age group. The data comes from the “2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: Mental Health Findings” by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (samhsa), which polled about 68,700 Americans.

The survey showed that adults age 50 and older had the lowest levels of mental illness, at 13.7 percent, while young adults ages 18 to 25 had the highest rate, at 30 percent.

Why such a discrepancy between young adults and the older generations?

Because the foundation of a sound and stable mind is a sound and stable family—and in the last several decades, stable families have been going the way of the dodo.

Between 1960 and 2000, the number of unmarried partners living together increased tenfold.

In 1960, around 5.3 percent of American children were born to unmarried women. By 2005, that percentage had leaped to 36.8.

Divorce rates in the United States have also soared in recent decades and any slowing in their ascent is due to a national trend of avoiding marriage altogether. A lower marriage rate means fewer divorces, but it does nothing to curb the mushrooming number of fragmented homes.

Those who are 50 and older grew up in an era of comparative family stability when divorce, cohabitation and unmarried mothers were not nearly as prevalent as they have become. Being raised during an age that placed more value on traditional family gave these older generations a foundation of mental stability which enables them now to navigate through the tribulations of life with a composure that is much rarer in the younger generations.

Dramatically rising rates of divorce, cohabitation and single motherhood indicate a society whose foundations—traditional families—are crumbling. When a staggering 30 percent of people raised in the time of less stable families are reported to have mental illness, isn’t it logical to draw a correlation between America’s crumbling family values, and the disintegrating mental soundness of its citizens?

In 2008, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote:

History shows that the strength of any nation depends upon the strength of its families. Family is the rock-solid foundation on which a country’s superstructure is erected. … Strong nations are underpinned by strong families …. We think we can discard marriage and family and suffer no consequences ….

As America’s families continue to crumble, the consequences, like rampant mental illness, will become more and more obvious.