Girls mental health declines sharply at 14 and worsens through adolescence, and their wellbeing falls even lower towards the end of their teenage years, while their depressive symptoms increase significantly, a two-year study has found.
The Education Policy Institute (EPI) and The Prince’s Trust have today published a major study on the mental health and wellbeing of young people in Generation Z.
Based on data from the Millennium Cohort Study and supported by Tesco, the report reveals new insights into the determinants of young people’s wellbeing, including how it is affected by their relationships, background and use of social media.
The study examines the personal experiences of young people in England at age 11, 14 and 17. This is supplemented by focus group responses from November 2020.
The research shows that while the wellbeing of all young people declines by the end of their teenage years, there is a strong gender divide within this: girls see far lower levels of wellbeing and self-esteem than boys – driven by a sharp fall of both during mid-adolescence.
Girls experience more depressive symptoms than boys – such as feeling worthless or hopeless – while they are also more likely to feel unhappy about their physical appearance. The proportion of girls that feel unhappy about their appearance rises considerably between age 11 and 14, from 1 in 7 to around 1 in 3.
Social media also plays a key role for the generation of “digital natives”, with the new findings showing that very frequent use has an adverse effect on the wellbeing of boys and girls, along with the self-esteem of girls.
Based on the new findings, researchers determine that the experience of the pandemic is likely to continue to exacerbate existing mental health and wellbeing problems among young people. National estimates show that 1 in 6 young people now have a probable mental illness – up from 1 in 9.
While school closures were necessary in order to ensure the safety of pupils, with positive mental health outcomes closely linked to relationships and social experiences in the school environment, researchers fear that the increased isolation seen over the last year risks causing long-term damage to the wellbeing of hundreds of thousands of young people.
Commenting on the new study, Whitney Crenna-Jennings, report author and Senior Researcher at the Education Policy Institute (EPI), said:
“This research shows that the mental health of young people in Generation Z deteriorates markedly as they enter their teenage years, with girls in particular seeing a big drop in their personal wellbeing and self-esteem from around the age of 14.
“Poverty, heavy use of social media and lack of physical exercise are just some of the factors that we find are directly linked to poor mental health outcomes.”
“The government has provided extra academic support for pupils but there is now a compelling case for it to consider emergency funding to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing. If we fail to counter the ill-effects of this crisis on young people’s health and development, there is a real risk that it inflicts irreversible damage on their later life chances.”
Jonathan Townsend, UK Chief Executive of The Prince’s Trust said:
“The transition from childhood to adolescence can be turbulent, and the findings of this report underline why addressing and supporting young people’s mental health will only become more crucial as the impact of the pandemic unfolds.
“Young people are among the hardest hit by the pandemic, so it is more important than ever that they can access support with their mental health during this critical time in their lives.
“At The Prince’s Trust we see the damage poor mental health can have on a young person, impacting their education, subsequent employment and overall life chances. It is only by working together, and quickly, that we can prevent scarring this generation’s future.”
