Social media, pushy parents and peer pressure to blame for rise in depression in teenage girls
23rd August 2016
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A government study into the mental wellbeing of teenagers, seen by The Times, has found that the number of girls aged 14 to 15 experiencing symptoms of mental ill health has risen 10% in a decade.
The study, which examined the mental wellbeing of 30,000 teenagers, also found that girls from more affluent backgrounds and those whose parents attended university are more likely to experience symptoms of deteriorating mental health.
Experts claim that social media, pushy parents and peer pressure are among the factors which contribute to the rise, which appears mostly among girls, who were twice as likely as boys to experience symptoms. 1 in 3 girls experience symptoms like a feeling of low self-worth and lack of concentration, but boys and girls who had parents educated to a degree level were 5% more likely to experience distress.
The study found that teenagers’ backgrounds has a significant impact in determining whether they would experience psychological distress. For example, it was suggested that teenagers from a less privileged background had “lower levels of expectation for school success and lower levels of associated pressure”, but that they were more capable of handling stress having experienced more disadvantages in their life, according to the report from the Department for Education survey.

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