Research using the Global Mind data

Published work that uses the Global Mind data, by our own team and by other researchers, newest first. The data is collected with the Mental Health Quotient (MHQ), our online assessment of mental wellbeing. If you’ve published work using the data, send it to data@sapienlabs.org and we’ll add it. Our annual reports and Rapid Reports are on our Reports page: https://sapienlabs.org/research-and-reports/reports/

All Sapien Labs papers, including our neuroscience work: https://sapienlabs.org/research-and-reports/journal-publications/

2026

• Newson, J. J., Parameshwaran, D., Schweitzer, J., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2026). Limitations of PHQ-9 as a first line mental health screener in primary care. Frontiers in Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1823578 · Preprint: https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/p7q8x_v2
  Compared with the MHQ in 5,750 people, the PHQ-9 at the moderately severe cut-off caught only 46% of those with five or more severe symptoms, and missed several symptoms that were common in the sample.
  Keywords: screening · depression · PHQ-9 · primary care

• Bala, J., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2026). An inverted U-shape association between mind health and generative AI-use frequency. Preprint, PsyArXiv. https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/hkvum_v1
  In 176,198 adults, mind health rose with low to moderate generative AI use and fell sharply with daily use, most of all among 18- to 34-year-olds. Those using AI for emotional support or companionship scored lower at every frequency. The authors note it is cross-sectional and can’t be read as causal.
  Keywords: generative AI · technology · young adults

• Sukhoi, O., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2026). Validation of the Youth Mental Health Quotient (Youth MHQ): A comprehensive assessment of mental health & wellbeing. Preprint, PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/nk2dg_v2
  The same 47 items adapted for 12- to 17-year-olds, tested with 9,916 young people in the US. Related items correlate as expected; scores are less stable across samples than in the adult version.
  Keywords: Youth MHQ · adolescents · validation

• Sukhoi, O., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2026). Cross-linguistic consistency and validation of the Mental Health Quotient (MHQ) across 21 languages. Preprint, PsyArXiv. https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/tv24r_v1
  Across 21 languages, related items correlate and unrelated ones barely do, and scores stay stable across repeated samples, supporting the translations.
  Keywords: MHQ · translation · languages · validation

• Taylor, J., Bala, J., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2026). The Global Mind Project: A real-time, large-scale platform for tracking global mind health and wellbeing. Preprint. https://sapienlabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Taylor-Bala-Thiagarajan_2026_The-Global-Mind-Project_preprint.pdf
  How the project collects its data, at what scale and under what governance: more than 2.3 million people in over 160 countries and 23 languages by August 2026. It compares the project with the WHO World Mental Health Surveys and the World Happiness Report, and sets out the limits of an online sample that isn’t drawn at random.
  Keywords: Global Mind Project · dataset · methods · sampling

• Thiagarajan, T. C., & Taylor, J. (2026). The MHQ Dimensions: A multidimensional profile of the Mental Health Quotient. Preprint. https://sapienlabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Thiagarajan-Taylor_2026_The-MHQ-Dimensions_preprint.pdf
  How the six MHQ dimensions (Adaptability & Resilience, Drive & Motivation, Mood & Outlook, Social Self, Cognition, and Mind-Body Connection) are built from the 47 items. Each is scored on the same −100 to +200 scale as the overall MHQ. The dimension scores don’t add up to the overall score; each is a separate profile of one area of function.
  Keywords: MHQ · dimensions · scoring · measurement

• Ferguson, C. J. (2026). Adverse childhood events, not age of acquiring smartphones or tablets, predict mental health in young adults. Clinical Neuropsychiatry. https://doi.org/10.36131/cnfioritieditore20260303
  In 80,878 young adults, adverse childhood events predicted mental health difficulties in early adulthood. The age at which they first had a smartphone or tablet did not.
  Keywords: smartphones · childhood adversity · young adults

• Blanchflower, D. G., & Bryson, A. (2026). Wellbeing, youth and survey mode: Comparisons across 23 countries using three international datasets. NBER Working Paper 35058. https://doi.org/10.3386/w35058
  The clearest evidence that wellbeing rises and ill-being falls with age comes from the online surveys, Global Mind among them. The authors caution that survey mode may not be the cause.
  Keywords: survey mode · age · young adults

• Bala, J., Newson, J. J., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2026). Contribution of social determinants to symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder. PLOS Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmen.0000552
  Machine learning on 4,186 people who completed the GAD-7 anxiety screener found early-life trauma, poor sleep, infrequent exercise, unemployment and weaker social bonds together strongly associated with anxiety symptoms, with sleep quality standing out. For 18- to 34-year-olds, interpersonal trauma was more strongly associated with anxiety than employment.
  Keywords: anxiety · GAD-7 · trauma · sleep

• Taylor, J., Sukhoi, O., Newson, J. J., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2026). Global Mind Project data in the United States: A comparison with national statistics. International Journal of Population Data Science. https://doi.org/10.23889/ijpds.v11i1.3148 · Preprint: https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/p9ur6_v4
  114,721 US responses from 2020 to 2024, compared with three national surveys from the Census Bureau and Pew. Demographic patterns typically fall within 5 to 7% of the national figures, and mental health treatment rates within 1% of the Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey in three of the four years compared. More respondents report having two or fewer close friends than in Pew’s American Trends Panel.
  Keywords: representativeness · United States · national surveys

2025

• Blanchflower, D. G., & Bryson, A. (2025). The mental health of the young in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. Review of Development Economics. https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.70104
  Interviewer-led surveys show no relative decline among the young, but in the Global Mind data young adults in several Central Asian republics report especially low wellbeing.
  Keywords: Eastern Europe · Central Asia · young adults

• Bala, J., Sukhoi, O., Newson, J. J., Machado, P. P., Lawrence, M., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2025). Estimation of the nature and magnitude of mental distress in the population associated with ultra-processed food consumption. Frontiers in Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2025.1562286
  In 400,787 people across 60 countries, eating ultra-processed food more often was associated with poorer mental wellbeing, even accounting for income, exercise and adversity. The authors estimate that 3.4 to 7.8% of the sample had clinical-level mental distress linked to ultra-processed food, and treat this as a floor.
  Keywords: diet · ultra-processed food · lifestyle

• Blanchflower, D. G., & Bryson, A. (2025). Wellbeing of the young in Africa. Journal of African Economies. https://doi.org/10.1093/jae/ejaf016
  Across the surveys studied, there is little sign that the age pattern of wellbeing has changed over the last decade. In online surveys such as Global Mind, wellbeing appears to rise with age.
  Keywords: Africa · young adults · age

• Blanchflower, D. G., & Bryson, A. (2025). Not flourishing. NBER Working Paper 34321. https://doi.org/10.3386/w34321
  In Global Mind data for the 22 countries of the Global Flourishing Study, the MHQ score rises with age, while suicidal thoughts, anxiety and sadness fall with age. In that study’s telephone interviews, by contrast, the young appear the happiest.
  Keywords: flourishing · age · wellbeing economics

• Blanchflower, D. G., & Bryson, A. (2025). Life satisfaction in Western Europe and the gradual vanishing of the U-shape in age. Academia Mental Health and Well-Being. https://doi.org/10.20935/mhealthwellb7877
  Across 21 countries, the long-standing U-shape in life satisfaction has gradually vanished, and the Global Mind data, among other datasets, show the same.
  Keywords: Western Europe · life satisfaction · age

• Blanchflower, D. G., Bryson, A., & Xu, X. (2025). The declining mental health of the young and the global disappearance of the unhappiness hump shape in age. PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0327858
  Pooling Global Mind data from 2020 to 2025, ill-being no longer peaks in middle age; it now falls with age.
  Keywords: age · young adults · wellbeing economics

• Blanchflower, D. G., & Bryson, A. (2025). The mental health of the young in Latin America. Social Indicators Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-025-03669-9
  In the Global Mind data, mental health is poorest among the young. Interviewer-led surveys give mixed results, which the authors attribute to young people under-reporting distress to an interviewer.
  Keywords: Latin America · young adults · survey mode

• Blanchflower, D. G., & Bryson, A. (2025). The mental health of the young in Asia and the Middle East: The importance of self-reports. Quality & Quantity. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-025-02264-x
  In interviewer-led surveys the young are the happiest; in online surveys the pattern reverses. The switch is confined to questions about wellbeing and distress, not physical health or behavior.
  Keywords: Asia · Middle East · young adults · survey mode

• Thiagarajan, T. C., Newson, J. J., & Swaminathan, S. (2025). Protecting the developing mind in a digital age: A global policy imperative. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities. https://doi.org/10.1080/19452829.2025.2518313
  Getting a smartphone before 13 was associated with poorer mind health in young adulthood, including suicidal thoughts and poorer emotional regulation, especially among women. The authors propose restricting smartphone and social media access for under-13s.
  Keywords: smartphones · childhood · policy · young adults

• Twenge, J. M., & Blanchflower, D. G. (2025). Declining life satisfaction and happiness among young adults in six English-speaking countries. NBER Working Paper 33490. https://doi.org/10.3386/w33490
  Eleven studies show declining life satisfaction and happiness among young adults over the last decade, and the Global Mind data show the same.
  Keywords: young adults · life satisfaction · English-speaking countries

• Blanchflower, D. G., Bryson, A., & Xu, X. (2025). Declining youth well-being in 167 UN countries: Does survey mode, or question matter? NBER Working Paper 33415. https://doi.org/10.3386/w33415
  In Global Mind data from 167 of the 193 UN member countries, the young have lower wellbeing than older age groups. Interviewer-led surveys show a different pattern.
  Keywords: age · young adults · survey mode

2024

• Newson, J. J., Sukhoi, O., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2024). MHQ: Constructing an aggregate metric of population mental wellbeing. Population Health Metrics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12963-024-00336-y · Preprint: https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/d47qj
  The 47 items, the life impact scale and the rationale behind the scoring algorithm, and how scores relate to productivity.
  Keywords: MHQ · scoring · measurement

• Brown, D. M. Y., Lerner, I., Cairney, J., & Kwan, M. Y. W. (2024). Independent and joint associations of physical activity and sleep on mental health among a global sample of 200,743 adults. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-024-10280-8 · Preprint: https://doi.org/10.51224/srxiv.254
  More physical activity and more nights of adequate sleep were each associated with better MHQ scores, and the link with physical activity was stronger among people who slept well more often. The associations were weaker among people receiving mental health treatment.
  Keywords: physical activity · sleep · lifestyle

• Bala, J., Newson, J. J., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2024). Hierarchy of demographic and social determinants of mental health: Analysis of cross-sectional survey data from the Global Mind Project. BMJ Open. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2023-075095 · Preprint: https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/k8h3u
  Machine learning on more than 120 demographic and social factors in 270,000 adults across 32 countries, ranking which best predict MHQ scores. The models correctly identified 80% of people with negative scores.
  Keywords: social determinants · machine learning · prediction

• Huong, C., & Brown, D. M. Y. (2024). Associations between physical activity and subcategories of mental health: A propensity score analysis among a global sample of 341,956 adults. Mental Health and Physical Activity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mhpa.2024.100586 · Preprint: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/n5u8e
  Regular physical activity was associated with higher overall MHQ scores, most strongly for Mind-Body Connection and least for Social Self.
  Keywords: physical activity · MHQ dimensions · lifestyle

2022

• Newson, J. J., Pastukh, V., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2022). Assessment of population well-being with the Mental Health Quotient: Validation study. JMIR Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.2196/34105 · Preprint: https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/n7e9p
  Tests of the MHQ’s reliability, over time and across samples, and its validity against clinical burden and lost productivity, in 179,238 English-speaking adults in 10 countries.
  Keywords: MHQ · validation · reliability · productivity

2021

• Newson, J. J., Pastukh, V., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2021). Poor separation of clinical symptom profiles by DSM-5 disorder criteria. Frontiers in Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.775762
  In 107,349 adults, symptoms ran on a continuum and did not split into normal and disordered. Of people with five or more clinically significant symptoms, 58.7% did not meet the criteria for any of 10 DSM-5 disorders.
  Keywords: DSM-5 · diagnosis · symptoms

• Newson, J. J., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2021). Dynamic dataset of global population mental wellbeing. Preprint, PsyArXiv. https://doi.org/10.31234/osf.io/vtzne
  What the Global Mind data contains: 47 indicators of mental wellbeing, life context measures, and overall and dimension scores, updated continuously and free for non-commercial research. This is the paper to cite for the database.
  Keywords: dataset · Global Mind · how to cite

2020

• Newson, J. J., & Thiagarajan, T. C. (2020). Assessment of population well-being with the Mental Health Quotient (MHQ): Development and usability study. JMIR Mental Health. https://doi.org/10.2196/17935
  A web-based assessment that covers the full range of clinical symptoms and healthy mental functioning, from distressed to thriving, with an overall score and six dimension scores.
  Keywords: MHQ · measurement · wellbeing