According to a new Pew study, 20% of teenage girls experienced at least one major depressive episode during the study year, 2017.
In 2007, that number was just 12%.
Among teenage boys, the number is relatively flat over the last decade, rising from 5% to 7%.
Girls also have higher rates of anxiety.
36% of girls reported feeling tense or nervous nearly every day, whereas, that number was just 23% for boys.
So what seems to be driving this increase?
While some might lay blame on social media, the vast majority of girls actually say it’s pressure to get good grades (61%), while appearance and social standing stood at roughly 30%.
The latter, of course, could be amplified by social media, but it’s important for parents to understand that the obsession with grades, testing etc., can be extraordinarily harmful to a kid’s mental health.
And nothing could be more harmful to their future than that.
A 3.0 GPA in high school with good mental health means far more for a child’s future, in every regards, than a 4.0 with extreme anxiety.
