Young people 'more stressed than ever'

Anxiety and depression are at record levels among 15-year-olds, a new survey shows

Stress levels in teenagers have reached record levels, an official study has found.

The survey, by the Medical Research Council (MRC), a government-funded research body, found that nearly one in four 15-year-olds – 24 per cent of those surveyed – are now thought to suffer from anxiety disorders, sleeplessness and forms of depression.

For middle-class girls, among whom the pressure to fit in and dress fashionably appears to be felt most acutely, the figure rises to 38 per cent.

Researchers interviewed 2,000 youngsters aged 15 in a repeat of a study performed 16 years ago.

By analysing the two sets of results, the MRC found a steep rise in stress levels. When the study was carried out in 1987, it showed one in five girls suffering from stress.

Researchers are blaming the ever-increasing demands of teenage life – not least an inordinate number of exams and increasing peer pressure – for the disturbing results.

For boys, the rise in stress has been far less dramatic, with an increase from 13 per cent to 15 per cent. The report suggests that the "laddish culture" of drinking may "protect against psychological distress".

Nevertheless, the study found that boys also are feeling the pressure of having to fit in with their classmates. Almost 20 per cent of 15-year-old boys now worry about their weight – and cannot sleep because of it – compared with 6 per cent in 1987.

By contrast, today's boys were found to be less anxious about pregnancy and doing well at school, whereas girls registered more concern over both issues.

Patrick West, co-editor of the report published in The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, said that the study raised serious questions about today's teenage culture.

"Increasingly, we live in an image-conscious society and issues about personal identity are important," said Prof West, who is head of the youth and health programme at the social and public health sciences unit at Glasgow University.

"Images in magazines – images of attractiveness – are very important to young people. I think the pressure for the young to conform has become much stronger.

"It is also important to remember that some of these pressures are experienced younger. We only have to look at 11- to 12-year-olds with weight issues to see that. It doesn't only happen at 15."

According to Prof West, society's increasing obsession with appearance and celebrity has a large part to play in many of today's teenage problems.

Rosemary Anderson, UK chair of the International Stress Management Association, a charity that promotes the prevention and reduction of stress, argued that a variety of factors were to blame for the results.

"Kids at this age find themselves in an awkward predicament," Dr Anderson said. "They aren't adults, but they aren't children either.

"It's an identity crisis that has become worse as they have been given more responsibility. Teenagers used to be seen and not heard, and now we expect them to have an opinion."

Alice Taylor, 15, is always tired. A pupil at Bishop Luffa school in Chichester, West Sussex, she will take 10 GCSEs this summer. But that's not all she's worried about. Lately she has been wondering if she should join a gym. Bombarded with media pictures of beautiful young women and perfect bodies, she reflects: "You look at people like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera and think 'OK, I'll join a gym'. You feel pressure to look a certain way and that is stressful." She says that homework, especially coursework, is the most stressful thing in her life. "I left it all till late and now I have to do it all at once." She adds: "I think, in general, girls get much more stressed than boys – there's pressure for us to look nice, but boys don't seem to care as much about things like that."

Dominic Pimenta, 15, also attends Bishop Luffa school. He is due to sit 12 GCSEs and hopes to read medicine at Oxford. But he is finding it difficult to balance his schoolwork and free time. "Study takes up a lot of weekends," he says. "I want to become a doctor, so I need good GCSEs and A levels. I mainly put pressure on myself. The coursework in all the subjects is very demanding. It's lots of stress and I'm always tired because we get up early for school." As well as worrying about his exams, Dominic admits to worrying about his appearance. "There's definitely subconscious pressure to conform. If you want to be in a certain group, or be considered 'cool', you have to look a certain way. It's true that girls get more stressed than boys. Clothing is more of a statement for them."