66.6%
Percentage of unpaid caregivers for older adults who reported at least one adverse mental or behavioral health symptom in the 30 days before taking a survey of 5,470 Americans conducted June 24–30, 2020. Approximately 40.4 million Americans provide unpaid care for people ages 65 and older, and about 90% of them are related to the person.(1)
32.9%
Percentage of unpaid caregivers who reported mental or behavioral health problems such as anxiety, depression or substance use in the 30 days before taking the June survey. That compares with 6.3% of respondents who weren’t caring for older family members. Unpaid caregivers were also 3.33 times more likely to report using substances to cope than they were in May.
30.7%
Percentage of unpaid caregivers who reported thinking seriously about suicide in the 30 days before completing the June survey. That compares with 3.6% of those not providing unpaid care for older adults, and it is higher than suicide-ideation rates in other high-risk groups including essential workers (21.7%), young people ages 18–24 (25.5%), Hispanics (18.6%) and Blacks (15.1%).
