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Kind Communities: Kindness and Mental Health in Young People’s Personal Lives and Relationships

On behalf of Born This Way Foundation, Benenson Strategy Group conducted 1,001 online interviews with 15-24 year olds across the U.S., including oversamples of LGBTQ+ youth and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) from March 24-April 10, 2023.  In this third installment of our 2023 Kind Communities report series, we explore kindness and mental health in young people’s personal lives, observing their relationships with parents or guardians, friends, and peer groups. This report tracks changes to many dynamics explored among these audiences since the inaugural 2017 Kind Communities – A Bridge To Youth Mental Wellness research.

This report refers to several groups throughout:

  • School students: Respondents who are between the grade levels of 6th and 12th grade.
  • Postsecondary students: Respondents who are between the first year and fifth year of college or university, or who are in graduate school.
  • Young workers: Respondents who are employed full-time or part-time, or are self-employed.

Highlights include:

  • Young people know kindness is important for their mental health. 75% of young people engage in acts of kindness to support their mental health and well-being.
  • Young people make the effort to be kind to friends. 81% of young people often or always make an effort to be kind to their close friends.
  • Young people’s close friends are a comfort. Nearly three out of four (68%) young people say their close friends are often or always a source of comfort.
  • Transgender and nonbinary young people are less likely to experience kindness and/or comfort from family members. Only 54% of transgender and nonbinary young people say their parents or guardians frequently make an effort to be kind to them. Less than half of transgender or nonbinary young people say their parents/guardians (35%) or siblings (41%) are an ongoing source of comfort.
  • For transgender, nonbinary, and BIPOC young people, their online community is a comfort. Over half of young people who are transgender and nonbinary (55%) or BIPOC (54%) indicated their online community was a source of comfort.

Click here to download the report or find the report here:

 

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Kind Communities: Perspectives from Work and Returning to School among Young People

Born This Way Foundation Team / September 13, 2023