With World Mental Health Day coming up next week, October 10, it’s an opportune time to check in on how Californians view mental health issues. More than eight in 10 California adults say there is a mental health crisis in the U.S. today, according to the latest Statewide PPIC survey and similar to a KFF 2022 national survey. What does this mean for Californians personally?
We first asked respondents to rate their own mental health. Around half rate their own mental health as excellent (18%) or very good (31%), around three in ten rate it as good (32%) and around two in ten rate it as fair (14%) or poor (4 %). Although these self-assessments are mostly positive overall, there are many variations across demographic, income and other groups. As California takes new policy measure to address serious mental health problems It is important for policymakers and others to understand which groups are struggling most.
Notably, African Americans, young adults (ages 18 to 34), and adults with household incomes below $40,000 are most likely to describe their mental health as poor, with about one in ten each saying that.
We also asked to what extent, if at all, Californians feel able to cope with issues currently affecting their mental health or emotional well-being. The good news: An overwhelming majority of adults say they feel very good (38%) or somewhat good (48%; 12% not very well, 2% not well at all). Yet some demographic groups have a harder time than others coping very Well: African Americans, Asian Americans, youth, and low-income adults are among the groups least likely to say they feel very well able to get by.
Can people talk to family and friends about their mental health problems? Again, the news is generally good: more than two in three adults are very (28%) or somewhat (40%) comfortable doing this, compared to about three in ten who are not too comfortable (23%) ) or not at all comfortable. (8%). Once again, there are disparities in the share of people who report feeling very comfortable, with Asian Americans and young adults least likely to say this among demographic groups.
Do Californians know where to turn if they encounter difficulties? A majority of adults (56%) say they have heard nothing at all about the National Mental Health Helpline 988 which helps connect people to mental health services, such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. About half or more of demographic groups report this, and this share increases with age.
After reading a brief summary about 988, a solid majority of adults say they are very (21%) or somewhat likely (42%) to call a 988 number if they or a loved one were experiencing a crisis. mental health – with majorities across demographic and regional groups saying so.
Even though he was confronted controversialCalifornia’s Community Assistance, Recover and Empowerment (CARE) court program recently took effect, aimed at helping to address California’s overlapping mental health and homelessness issues.
Additionally, in mid-September, Governor Newsom mental health package– which makes changes to California’s behavioral health care system (Mental Health Services Act, SB 326) and includes a $4.68 billion bond to build new behavioral health beds and housing units (AB 531) — was passed by the state legislature, with the bond set to appear on the March 2024 primary ballot.
In this way, the state government is taking steps to address what many are calling a widespread mental health crisis. The statewide PPIC survey will continue to collect views and opinions on this critical topic.
