Study finds worsening wellbeing and self-esteem among teenagers, raising fears pandemic will exacerbate trend
The government has been urged to set up a post-pandemic wellbeing fund for schools in England to match its £650m academic catch-up funding, after a major study highlighted worsening mental health among young people, with teenage girls particularly severely affected.
The research tracked the experiences of young people in England, at the ages of 11, 14 and 17, and found that while wellbeing declined for all groups as they got older, girls experienced far lower levels of wellbeing and self-esteem than boys and were more likely to feel unhappy about their physical appearance.