The document presents statistics that suggest pressures on teenagers have increased over time. It finds that rates of depression and anxiety among teenagers have risen by 70% in the last 25 years. Additionally, 37% of girls report feelings of unhappiness, worthlessness or an inability to concentrate. The statistics indicate that many more teenagers are suffering from mental health issues as a result of stress. Furthermore, teenagers now face added pressures like tuition fees for university that previous generations did not have. The data supports the idea that teenagers today experience higher levels of pressure compared to past decades.

1. Soffia Farmer
Topic Research – ‘are there more pressures on teenagers
now than there used to be?’
According to the metro online newspaper, the main areas that teenagers have
pressures from are:
 Huge expectations
 Hormones and puberty
 Bullying
 Parents
 Love
 Independence and privacy
 Proms
 Identity
 Being tarred with the same brush
http://metro.co.uk/2015/07/11/being-a-teenager-is-the-worst-time-of-your-life-and-
heres-why-5290970/
Eating disorders affect around 12% of British girls, there has been a 68% increase in
self harm, in the past 10 years.
In 2014, figures were published suggesting a 70% increase in 10-14 year olds attending A&E
for self-harmrelated reasons over the preceding 2 years.
https://www.selfharm.co.uk/get/facts/self-harm_statistics
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-2293348/Teenage-girls-heading-
emotional-meltdown-pressure-sexually-active-excel-
academically.html#ixzz4Ko5eHynW
According to the telegraph online newspaper, the number of 15 year old suffering
with anxiety and depression has increased by 70% since the mid 1980’s.
Experts say the rise in anxiety levels, and a decline in mental health, cannot be
explained by soaring divorce rates because comparable increases were found in all
types of family and across social classes.
The research was conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London,
and the University of Manchester and looked at three generations of 15-year-olds, in
1974, 1986 and 1999, based on their parents' assessments.
It does not provide answers but suggests that the transition to secondary school
might be becoming more demanding while expectations of academic achievement
had risen.
It also points to the imbalance in time spent on school work compared to leisure
activities, with many children having few out-of-school pursuits. Family members
also spend little time together, while drugs and alcohol are increasingly available to
today's adolescents.
Ann Hagell, editor of the Journal of Adolescence, said anticipation of the future was

2. Soffia Farmer
distressing for many teenagers. "Add to that the reduction of employment levels of
graduates, and at 15 or 16 there's a real struggle ahead for five years over debt,"
she said. "We have high expectations of independence for our teenagers without
giving them the means to achieve that."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1471689/How-the-pressure-to-succeed-is-
creating-a-generation-of-unruly-depressed-teenagers.html
Students are stressing out more than ever over their education. The competition to get into
college has significantly intensified over the years. Students will put themselves through
countless hours of extra-curricular activities and studying for Advanced Placement and
honors classes to ensure a jumpstart for their futures. According to Center on the
Developing Child, stress and sleep-deprivation disrupt the development of the brain and
cause cognitive impairment, which will ultimately impact adulthood.
http://chscourier.com/opinions/2014/03/06/pressures-to-be-succeed-are-far-greater-for-
teens-today-than-they-were-for-past-generations/
Rates of depression and anxiety among teenagers have increased by 70 per cent in
the past 25 years. The number of children and young people turning up in A&E with
a psychiatric condition has more than doubled since 2009 and, in the past three
years, hospital admissions for teenagers with eating disorders have also almost
doubled. In a 2016 survey for Parent Zone, 93 per cent of teachers reported seeing
increased rates of mental illness among children and teenagers and 90 per cent
thought the issues were getting more severe, with 62 per cent dealing with a pupil's
mental-health problem at least once a month and an additional 20 per cent doing so
on a weekly or even daily basis.
We are educating young people for a world that is unlikely to exist in 20 years' time
and, arguably, not equipping them with the skills they need for the one that will. And
then there's the internet, which has grown up at the same time as the explosion in
teen mental illness, and is often seen as part of the problem, with cyberbullying and
worries about body image (created partly by selfie culture) often cited as triggers.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/teenage-mental-
health-crisis-rates-of-depression-have-soared-in-the-past-25-years-a6894676.html
It is estimated that more than 230,000 students will miss out on university this year
as the rush to escape the higher tuition fees generates record demand for places. In
2010/2011 YoungMinds received 6332 calls to the helpline, 884 calls were about 16-
17 year olds and, of those, 39% were about school problems including exam stress.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/8720513/GCSEs-Pressure-of-
exams-leaves-teens-suffering-from-mental-illness.html
Among 10 to 15-year-old girls, the charity's report says 14% are unhappy with their
lives as a whole, and 34% with their appearance.
Researchers were told of girls feeling ugly or worthless.

3. Soffia Farmer
The figures for England, Wales and Scotland for 2013-14 represent a sharp rise in
unhappiness on five years before.
By contrast the study found that boys' sense of happiness remained stable.
Children's Society and University of York researchers examined responses on the
wellbeing of 10 to 15-year-olds.
They found that between 2009-10 and 2013-14 on average 11% of both boys and
girls said they were unhappy.
But the latest available figures, for 2013-14, showed the proportion of girls saying
they were unhappy had risen to 14%.
It follows research recently published by the Department for Education which
showed the mental well-being of teenage girls in England has worsened,
compared with their counterparts in 2005.
The study highlighted the growing pressure of social media and suggested that a
tough economic climate had created a more "serious" generation of young people.
http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/pensions/article-1679780/New-state-pension-
age-retire.html
With the retirement age rising to 67 by 2026-28, young people will soon work for 50
years or more. I realise that choosing the profession I want to follow – and the A-
levels and university courses that will get me there – is a decision of paramount
importance. But I can't help thinking that it's too much for an inexperienced 17-year-
old to make.
https://www.theguardian.com/careers/young-people-take-career-decisions-too-
early
Then there are extra stresses that weren’t around years ago: social media issues,
including online bullying, so that bullying is no longer confined to school, which
was bad enough, but persists day and night and is horrifically more public;
relentlessly repeated multi-media exposure to stories of tragedy and danger;
greater availability of strong alcohol; more exams and greater perceived need to
excel; greater pressure to conform to “perfect” body shapes, as prescribed by
“celebrity” culture; pressure to go to university or be regarded as a lesser mortal;
a highly materialistic and aspirational culture; real fears about the environment;
and an extremely difficult economic climate which makes their futures very
uncertain. The teenager who can rise above all this is remarkable indeed. And
that’s before we even consider those with horrendously difficult home lives, often
lacking support and hope.
I’m not saying everything is harder today. Teenagers often have more money,
more opportunities and more flexible ambitions than in previous generations.

4. Soffia Farmer
Many teenagers in previous generations had to earn their own living early and
life was enormously hard for many - as for many today, who may be caring for a
parent (there are an estimated 700,000 young carers in the UK, many of whom
are at school) or dealing with a challenging home situation, or no home situation.
Besides, we may not have called it “stress” but the condition or symptoms
certainly existed. I don’t believe adolescence was a breeze for any generation. In
the old days, stress was left to fester, or was medicated. That’s nothing to be
proud of.
I’m just saying: don’t ignore the stresses facing modern teenagers. Stress need
not be a medical issue; it becomes one when we ignore symptoms, risking them
developing into mental illness. Don’t indulge in the smug “I survived - so can
you” approach. Not everyone does survive, actually.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/nicola-morgan/teenage-stress-mental-
health_b_3245464.html
In the UK, anxiety disorders are estimated to affect 5-19% of all children and
adolescents http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/anxiety-children/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Anxiety problems affect some 300,000 children and adolescents in the UK.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29954970
Among the girls, 37% reported feeling unhappy, worthless or unable to concentrate,
more than twice the percentage of boys reporting such feelings, a rise since a study in
2005, which was described by the researchers as “an important and significant
trend”. The figure for the girls had risen by nearly four percentage points since 2005,
while the figure for boys, 15%, had fallen slightly.
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/aug/22/third-teenage-girls-depression-
anxiety-survey-trend-truant
Among the girls, 37% reported feeling unhappy, worthless or unable to concentrate,
more than twice the percentage of boys reporting such feelings, a rise since a study
in 2005, which was described by the researchers as “an important and significant
trend”. The figure for the girls had risen by nearly four percentage points since 2005,
while the figure for boys, 15%, had fallen slightly.
http://www.itsgoodtotalk.org.uk/news/2016/09/more-than-a-third-of-teenage-girls-in-
england-suffer-depression-and-anxiety

5. Soffia Farmer
Depression is less common in men than it is in women. Around one in 10 men in the
UK will be treated for depression.
http://www.webmd.boots.com/depression/guide/depression-men
At any one time, one in five women (19.7%) and one in eight men (12.5%) are suffering
from a common mental disorder (e.g. depression, anxiety, phobia, obsessive compulsive
disorder and panic disorder). (Reference: C. Deverill and M. King (2009), ‘Common mental
disorders’, in Adult PsychiatricMorbidity Survey)
https://www.menshealthforum.org.uk/key-data-mental-health
At any one time it is believed that one in five women (19.7%) and one in eight men
(12.5%) are diagnosed with a common mental illness, such as anxiety, depression,
panic disorder or obsessive compulsive disorder.1
http://www.counselling-directory.org.uk/men-and-mental-health-stats.html
Overall, Ucas said 580,000 applied to study at higher education
level this year, with 333,700 women making up almost 58% of
the total, and only 246,300 men, a difference of 87,000.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jan/31/university-applications-record-
high-ucas
In total, 592,290 applications were submitted to the January 15th Ucas
deadline, almost 10,000 more than the previous record,set in 2011,just
before the rise in tuition fees.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/universityeducation/11377594/Record-number-
of-students-applying-to-university.html
430,489 applied in 2008
https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/jan/30/university-applications-
subjects-age-gender-country
Summary
To summarise, the statistics I have found out when searching for pressures on
teenagers is the amount that suffer with mental health problems due to stress. For
example, the rates of depression and anxiety amongst teenagers has risen by 70% in
25 years, this also leads to the question whether there are more pressures on
teenagers now than there used to be and this proves that point. Another thing I
found is that pressures on teens is heightened because now you have to pay for
university, whereas in the past you didn’t. another statistic I found was that 37% of

6. Soffia Farmer
girls are feel unhappy, worthless or unable to concentrate. This is a big percentage of
people and this makes us think that there is too much pressure on teenagers that
they are being more and more unhappy and suffering with mental health problems.
In addition, not only is it us that get told that we have it easy in our generation, when
in fact it is probably harder.