It's tough for teenaged girls to live in Britain: Study

Sunday April 17, 2011 07:26:46 PM, IANS

London: Teenaged girls in Britain seem to be putting up with quite a challenging time than their mothers probably did. A new study suggests that twice as many girls are suffering from "teenage angst" and as many as 900,000 say they are "unhappy and depressed".

The study, carried out by thinktank Demos and to be published in full on Good Friday, has found that teenaged girls are finding it difficult growing up in Britain. They are more likely to suffer from bad health compared to boys of their age, the Daily Mail reports.

It states evidence shows British girls are more likely to skip meals in a bid to try and lose weight and often smoke and drink more alcohol than boys.

The problem appears to be worse for young girls from lower economic backgrounds.

Girls are also more concerned about their appearance and the need to be perfect, which is influenced by celebrity culture. They also feel more pressurised to lose their virginity early.

Some young women said they felt burdened by expectations that they should try and carve out a career in more male-dominated environments.

Think tank deputy director Julia Margo told The Observer: "Growing up has always been tough but our research shows that this generation of teenagers has more reason to wallow and fret than previous generations."

"It is definitely tougher to grow up in Britain as a girl, and it is harder having to do it now than it has been in recent years."

The report said there are over five million teenagers in Britain, half of which are girls.

More girls aged 14 to 15 said they often feel worthless, unhappy or depressed or have a low self-esteem compared to boys. The portion of girls who said they feel worthless more than usual was nearly twice as much as boys.

The number of teenage girls feeling "not very happy" has nearly doubled in 2011 compared to the last two years.

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Picture of the Day

Farooq Naikwadi, a counselor for Civil Services exams, addressing a workshop on the topic at Abdullah Ash Shae Auditorium, Mansoora in Malegaon April 09, 2011

(Photo: ummid.com)