WHO report: The well-being of young people is worrying

A latest research report jointly released by the World Health Organization’s European Regional Office and the “Health Behavior in School-Age Children Study” project on Wednesday showed that the well-being of adolescents around the world is worrying.

The report is based on large-scale survey data of nearly 280,000 young people. It deeply analyzes the well-being of nearly 280,000 adolescents aged 11, 13 and 15 in 44 countries, and points out that the support received by adolescents in Europe, Central Asia and Canada from family and peers has decreased significantly.

As a multinational cooperative project of the World Health Organization, the “School-age Children’s Health Behavior Study” focuses on the health and well-being of adolescents. The study collects and analyzes the health status of adolescents and the impact of their social environment, such as family, school, and peers, on their health by regularly conducting questionnaire surveys in schools. The project has now expanded to 50 countries and regions in Europe and North America, and its data and research results provide a solid scientific basis for policy formulation and practice at all levels.

The report points out that compared with the data of the last survey in 2018, only 68% of adolescents said they received high family support, which is a significant drop. At the same time, school pressure has increased sharply, especially affecting girls. This trend has had a negative impact on the mental health and overall well-being of millions of adolescents, especially for older adolescents and families with poorer economic conditions.

Key findings

The study found that since 2018, adolescents have generally shown a downward trend in family and peer support. The proportion of adolescents with high levels of family support has dropped from 73% to 67%, while the proportion of adolescents with high levels of peer support has dropped from 61% to 58%. Among them, the reduction in support for girls is particularly obvious. Compared with adolescents with less support, those who receive good family and peer support show obvious advantages in mental health.

Research shows that more and more teenagers are feeling anxious due to academic pressure, especially older girls, whose pressure has increased significantly. The proportion of 15-year-old girls feeling academic pressure increased from 54% in 2018 to 63%, while the proportion of boys increased slightly from 40% to 43%. It is worth noting that only 36% of 15-year-old girls said they received a high level of teacher support, which is much lower than the 47% of boys.