HOW do we fix this?
A Depressing Era for Teenagers
(reprinted from THE WEEK Jan 29 2010)
These are hard times for teenagers. A recent study of high school and college students, built on data from psychological surveys in use since 1938, has found that anxiety, depression, and other mental-health issues are far more prevalent among youth today than during the Great Depression. A team of researchers analyzed tens of thousands responses to common psychological surveys, which asked students if they felt sad, dissatisfied, worried, isolated, or otherwise mentally troubled. On average, five times as many students in 2007 reported signs of mental illness than did those in 1938. Increases in depression and hypomania—a mixture of anxiety and an unrealistic, manic form of optimism—were particularly acute.
Researchers speculate that modern society’s emphasis on wealth and external appearance places enormous pressure on young adults, who grow up believing that success is being rich, skinny, and “hot.” “We have become a culture that focuses more on material things and less on relationships,” psychologist and lead author Jean Twenge tells ABCnews.com. Other researchers suggest that overprotective parenting, which keeps kids from developing independence and coping skills, and even a lack of sleep contribute to the pandemic of mental illness. The new study helps to quantify a trend that many mental-health experts and school officials have observed anecdotally. “The next question is: What do we do about it?” Twenge says.
Tags: america, anxiety, boys, culture, depression, girls, media, mood, parenting, teeager, teen, television
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The facts are even more sobering when we look specifically at teens of color and teens who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered. Overall, it’s now a much tougher world in which to be a teen, than it was in the ’60′s.
Honestly? It’s too depressing to think about. I think we’ve dug ourselves into a mighty deep hole folks.
We try to get our kids (who are young adults) to Maine as often as possible to unplug and reconnect with the natural world – lots of exercise, sun, fresh air. It helps to cleanse body and soul. But the tough part is getting them up there because it’s so much slower-paced than what they’re used to and “boring.” But once they are there, their moods completely change!
It’s so hard to get teens outside of themselves away from all the high-tech & media mirrors… but I think it’s key.
What is the study? I’d like to pass it on to others. This fits, to my mind, with the studies on kids being plugged in to electronic media 11 hrs/day on average.
Study was conducted by San Diego State University psychology professor Jean Twenge
http://www.psychology.sdsu.edu/new-web/facultystaff/twenge.html
It starts from the moment they are old enough to go to preschool. Those of us pushing 50 and older learned to read and write by the end of 1st grade without preschool or kindergarten. Imagine that! And sports teams start with toddlers now. Kids have no time to be kids. Houses are so big and lawns so small – there’s no place for a pick-up game, even if they wanted to play one, or had the time to. My kids played outside all summer long until after dark, but there were kids in the neighborhood who were called in early. I never saw their parents out playing with them. Such a shame.
I couldn’t agree more Louise – kids live indoors and “virtually” (creating all these neuroses), not outdoors and experientially.
I agree about unplugging! It is so necessary, but difficult to teach to our children when we won’t do it ourselves. I think some part of this data is must be skewed by the openness to admit and/or express depressed feelings now as opposed to then. The 30′s and 40′s didn’t really tolerate much sitting around “feeling” things – people were much busier surviving then I think, and didn’t have the time. My grandmother used to often say “oh, one felt that way but one just didn’t say anything about it – it just wasn’t done.”