In a report entitled “Teenagers facing the world: growing malaise and distress” published on November 29, Ipsos paints a very gloomy picture of the general mental health of French adolescents in 2022.
- Teenagers are the category of the population that spends the most time on average on screens (6h48 per week).
- Consequence: 31% of them have suffered at least one situation of cyberviolence on social networks or by SMS.
- “Exposure is even greater with the most fragile adolescents, those whose level of anxiety would require a psychiatric evaluation: 53% of them would have been victims of at least one of these situations”, specify the study authors.
The mental health of adolescents has been greatly affected by the consequences of the pandemic and rising prices. Ipsos reveals to what extent, on the occasion of a study commissioned by Notre Avenir published this Tuesday: in 2022 in France, adolescents (11-15 years old) are 53% to suffer from symptoms of anxiety or depression. Figures ten points higher than those of the previous year. In addition, 31% of them could potentially suffer from generalized anxiety disorder (6 points more than in 2021).
Malaise: 48% of adolescents have depressive symptoms
To obtain these data, a representative sample of 1,002 French adolescents took a psychological test (the clinical test of the GAD7 type). The authors of the study note that this increase in the level of ill-being is a “global phenomenon that affects all categories”even if for the first time, “the suspicion of a generalized state of anxiety affects more strongly adolescents from more privileged categories.”
The study also highlights other figures, almost all up on those of last year: 48% of adolescents are suffering from depressive symptoms (+ 6 points), 17% declare themselves “overwhelmed” by suicidal thoughts (+ 6 points) and even 10% of them would be in severe depression (stable figure). Finally, 23% of young respondents report having no one to talk to about their problems.
In addition to the increase in these figures, the level of ill-being would be underestimated by the adolescents themselves, according to the authors of the report. Indeed, only 6% of respondents say they are not well. The level of well-being of the most anxious adolescents is also maintained (6.1/10). “A level also under-declared“, says Ipsos.
School, the main source of anxiety in adolescents
School turns out to be the primary source of anxiety among adolescents. The grading system seems to be the most anxiety-inducing factor, with 63% of young people surveyed feeling “very anxious when they have questions or when we give them notes” and 37% who have “very afraid of some teachers”. Overall, the fears that the school generates have increased slightly compared to 2021.
The current context also plays a role in the unhappiness of teenagers: violence against children (50%, -4 points), the state of the planet and nature (47%, -7 points) and the situation in the world (41%) are their other top three sources of stress. Faced with current events, the majority feelings are incomprehension, anguish and fear.
Above all, this stress is mainly fed by the negative tone of the information for 57% of them. It is through the smartphone that many teenagers discover these news (60% of them). The latter therefore often find themselves alone in the face of current events, without adults to provide them with more explanations and reassure their anxieties.
