Homeschooled Adults Are More Religious And Less Anxious

Horror stories abound about the parents of Gen Z showing up to their adult children’s job interviews. It’s hard not to think there is no hope for the anxious generation who can’t talk to a potential employer without mom or dad. You may, however, have recently met a rare competent, put-together young adult who could make eye contact, give a firm handshake, and make pleasant conversation. Far from the stereotypes of yesteryear, chances are that well-adjusted young adult was homeschooled.

A recent report from the Cardus Educational Survey analyzed educational, economic, mental health, civic, family, and faith status for American adults who were homeschooled and found a range of outcomes within a diverse population. With homeschooling on the rise, the report highlights that people in a variety of demographics opt for homeschooling, either short-term or long-term. Because of the diversity of homeschoolers and their families, the results are not easily grouped into population-wide findings. Researchers did, however, observe trends among adults who had been homeschooled, which they lay out in the new report.

The study shows improved mental health outcomes among adults who were homeschooled compared to their peers who were never homeschooled. In an epidemic of mental health issues among teens and young adults, this is an important finding that warrants more investigation. While leftists continue fearmongering about the imagined dangers of homeschooling, the results show that homeschoolers are a success in some of the ways that matter most.

Breaking Down the Report

Cardus is a non-partisan, Christian research organization. The group’s survey from 2023 studied adults aged 24 to 39 who were homeschooled for part or all of their primary and secondary education. Within that population, researchers looked at short-term homeschoolers (defined as people who were homeschooled one to two years), medium-term homeschoolers (three to seven years), and long-term homeschoolers (eight or more years). Researchers compared outcomes for adults from all homeschool types with outcomes for adults who were never homeschooled, controlling for demographic characteristics.

Researchers found that adults who had been homeschooled (all three groups) were less likely than adults who had never been homeschooled to be employed full-time. While this may initially seem concerning, the report does not indicate whether some of the unemployed survey respondents are stay-at-home parents.

In an email to me, Albert Cheng, a Cardus senior fellow, University of Arkansas professor and report co-author, explained that the team did not ask follow-up questions about status as a stay-at-home mothers. He stated, “The best thing we can do [to determine that information] is sleuth around the data for some suggestive patterns.” 

He noted, “Considering the respondents who are female and long-term homeschoolers: 53 percent of those respondents with kids are not employed while only 13 percent of those respondents without kids are not employed.” Cheng compared this to survey respondents who were not long-term homeschoolers, stating, “Considering the respondents who are female and not long-term homeschoolers: 33 percent of those respondents with kids are not employed while only 15 percent of those respondents without kids are not employed.”

Happy, Faithful, and Diverse

The most notable differences between homeschoolers and the survey respondents who were never homeschooled are seen in the mental health outcomes. The report states, “Compared to the other respondent groups, long-term homeschoolers exhibited the highest levels of optimism, gratitude, and life satisfaction. Long-term homeschoolers were also the least likely to ‘feel helpless dealing with life’s problems’ and to report symptoms associated with depression and anxiety.”

In the area of spirituality and faith, the report found: “Homeschooled adults were much more likely to report that they believed in God and life after death and regularly engaged in religious practices. The prevalence of religious belief and practice increased with the number of years spent in the homeschool sector.”

Uninformed critics are quick to dismiss homeschooling or suggest that parents who homeschool their children are suspect or unfit. The recent Cardus report confirms what many parents already know: There is diversity among the families that choose to homeschool, and, consequently, we should expect to find a diversity in homeschooling outcomes.

That said, within the wide range of outcomes, homeschoolers report to be marrying and staying married at higher rates, having more children than their peers who were never homeschooled, and suffer from mental health challenges at a lower rate.

Anna Kaladish Reynolds is a wife and mother in the great state of Texas. She writes at InspireVirtue.com and is interested in books and living the examined life.