31% of Summit County residents report feeling lonely in survey

The Summit County Health Department surveyed 2,223 residents 18 and older about mental health issues. Photo: Summit County Health Department

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — The Summit County Health Department released results from their 2021 Community Engagement & Behavioral Health Survey Report. The data has been collected from 2,223 individuals in Summit County that are 18 and older.

Below is a summary of the key findings:

• 86.2% agree that they trust people in their community.
• 78.8% of residents believe they are able to find people their own age for friendship at least some of the time.
• 31.9% of adults are lonely — meaning that there are times when they lack companionship, feel left out, or feel isolated from others
• 42.3% of residents feel that it is easy to discuss issues related to mental health.
• 30.8% of residents report being unable to get needed mental health services — primarily due to cost, perceived availability, lack of time, not wanting help, stigma/shame, or not knowing where to go.
• 59.9% of residents “strongly” or “somewhat agree” that alcohol is important to most peoples’ social lives.
• 37.2% of residents are “excessive drinkers”  — meaning they have had episodes of binge drinking in the past month and/or they average a high number of drinks per day over the past 30 days.
• 60.5% of residents say that their own life has been directly and negatively affected by someone’s substance abuse issue (their own or that of someone close to them).

Full report