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Published April 21, 2025 10:00am
The Philippines' mental health quotient (MHQ) has worsened in 2024 to 68.76 from 2023's recorded mental health quotient of 78.44, based on the Mental State of the World report by Sapien Labs, non-profit organization based in Washington DC.
Still, the Philippines' 2024 figure rates higher than the global average of 62.84.
According to Sapien Lab, the mental health quotient is a "comprehensive" metric of Mind Health and Wellbeing that "encompasses all aspects of mental function – emotional, cognitive and social as well as drive and resilience – and reflects, in the aggregate, our ability to navigate life’s challenges and function effectively."
It is categorized in six states: distressed (-100 to -50), struggling (-50 to 0), enduring (0-50), managing (50-100), succeeding (100-150), and thriving (150-200).
The "managing" category, which is where the Philippines' quotient belongs, corresponds to individuals reporting being able to be fully productive in their lives about 70% of the time, or 21 days per month.
The Mental State of the World Report is the annual report of Sapien Labs' Global Mind Project and "provides trends and insights on the Mind Health and Wellbeing of Internet-enabled populations around the globe."
The data is collected using the MHQ assessment, a comprehensive online survey of mental function that provides an overall metric (the MHQ score) that relates to the ability to navigate the normal stresses of life and function productively, it added.
The study is based on 1 million responses all over the world from 2023 to 2024.
By The Numbers
According to the study, there was no change in 2024 or "recovery from the pandemic low."
"While the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic may be behind us, its impact on Mind Health and Wellbeing continues," the study said, stressing that younger adults aged 18 to 34 have "starkly diminished mind health across all countries with an average MHQ of just 38."
In the Philippines, younger adults are at the "enduring" level with people between the ages of 18 and 24 at 24.9. Those between the ages of 25 and 34 have an average MHQ of 46.1.
Older adults, or those aged 55 and up, across the globe "are doing well with an average MHQ of 101 across 82 countries — close to the expected norm of 100."
In the Philippines, the average MHQ of people in the age range of 55-64 is 110.6, while people between the ages of 65 and 74 have the average MHQ of 115.5. Filipinos 75 years old and above scored an average MHQ of 112.9.
The study presents two perspectives on the "specific facets of mental function that younger generations are increasingly struggling with" such as "the prevalence of functionally significant problems in the global population relative to the older age group and the fold change in the rates of prevalence."
Based on the data, key symptoms that are prevalent in more than a third of the younger adult population and have the largest absolute percentage increase compared to older generations of 25% or more include:
- unwanted, strange and obsessive thoughts
- guilt and blame
- mood swings
- feelings of sadness or hopelessness
- fear and anxiety
- and a sense of being detached from reality
Meanwhile, problems with functions such as ability to learn and creativity and problem-solving have low prevalence.
The study also determined key functions or symptoms with the largest fold change in the proportion of 18–34-year-olds who rated it a significant problem compared to those aged 55 and above who did so.
At the upper end, ranging from 5.4 times to 4 times are planning and organization, speech and language, focus and concentration, social interaction and cooperation, relationships with others, self-control and impulsivity, self-worth and confidence, self-image, emotional resilience, decision-making and risk-taking, emotional control, stability and calmness, and empathy.
"Altogether many of these factors represent capacities to navigate the social world. As would be expected, the smallest fold increases were for physical health issues and susceptibility to infection," the study states.
"However, while these are lower they are still elevated in younger adults, emphasizing the mindbody connection or suggesting that the same factors that impact brain and Mind Health also compromise physical health and immune function," it added.
Root Causes and What to Do
The study has identified some of the root causes of the decline in the mental health quotient among the younger generation such as the lack of social connectedness, the use of smartphones, ultra-processed food, and environmental toxins.
"Altogether the decline in younger generations is present across all countries irrespective of spending levels on mental health research and access to care, making a case to reorient our approach," the study states.
"We call for a redirection of research and research funding to deepen our understanding of the root causes, and to take bold steps that utilize this understanding for effective prevention," it added.
It suggests that research for mental health should be refocused on addressing the root causes of mental health quotient decline.
"We cannot accept a future where humanity is no longer able to navigate life and function productively; a future where the ability to maintain the essential systems of a working society are jeopardized, and violence becomes more common," it said.
"If we are to reverse this alarming trend, research must be redirected to a greater depth of understanding of the root causes, and we must take bold preventative steps that utilize this understanding effectively." — LA, GMA Integrated News
