Help, we've already reached our 'quarter-life' crisis, moan Gen Z

By VICTORIA ALLEN, SCIENCE EDITOR Published: 00:06, 17 August 2026 | Updated: 00:09, 17 August 2026 They are known for their love of avocado on toast, wellness and matcha lattes. But it seems the comfort ends there for Gen Z – with almost half those aged 18 to 29 going through a so-called quarter-life crisis, a study suggests. Events such as studying, moving into the next stage of education, and housing problems have left young Britons in dire straits, according to the research led by the University of Greenwich. Each of these issues affects more than one in five young adults, and the subject has become popular on TikTok. Some 14 per cent said they were struggling with adult independence, 18 per cent said they were in crisis due to uncertainty about their future opportunities, and 15 per cent said identity issues were a predicament. The researchers studied 2,247 young adults across eight countries – the UK, Greece, Turkey, Brazil, Indonesia, India, Pakistan and the Czech Republic – to discover whether the phenomenon was universal. They found that more than 30 per cent of Gen Z in each nation were affected. Researchers told the volunteers that a quarter-life crisis was a 'turning point' lasting several years in which life was 'noticeably more difficult, stressful and unstable than normal', and then asked if they were experiencing it. Faced with issues including a stagnant economy, student debt and the hangover of the pandemic, Gen Z have complained of a 'quarter-life crisis' The study, published in the journal Emerging Adulthood, found the level of Gen Z quarter-life crises ranged from 40 per cent in Greece to 77 per cent in India. In the UK, where 280 took part, the rate was 44 per cent. They most commonly reported feeling negative about themselves, fearful, anxious, sad or down. Study leader Professor Oliver Robinson said: 'We talk about a midlife crisis, when people start questioning their lives... and can make big decisions like changing career or getting a divorce. 'There is also a later-life crisis, which older people feel around retirement and children leaving home. 'But the quarter-life crisis comes at a similar time of transition, when young people are also feeling "locked out" of opportunities like jobs, and worried about the future, or "locked in" to choices they've already made which might be the wrong ones. 'They are trying to figure out who they are and often navigating relationship problems and break-ups.' He added that they 'appear to happen consistently across different cultures and may just be a part of the human journey'.