Emotional problems in schoolgirls rose dramatically over past 5 years

Emotional problems in girls aged 11-13 in England increased by 55% between 2009 and 2014, finds new research from UCL and the Anna Freud Centre. On average, this means that a mixed classroom of 30 children today is likely to contain one more girl with emotional difficulties than a comparable class 5 years ago. The numbers of young adolescents in England experiencing other mental health difficulties did not change significantly, making the rise in emotional problems particularly striking. "5 years is a relatively short period of time, so we were surprised to see such a sharp spike in emotional problems among girls," says lead author Dr Elian Fink (UCL Psychology & Language Sciences). "The fact that other mental health issues stayed about the same makes us think that there must have been significant changes over the past 5 years which have specifically affected young girls. Whatever is causing the rise of emotional problems, it is clear that we need more effective interventions. These might include encouraging teachers to look out for emotional problems in young girls and increasing provision of youth mental health services." The study, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, compared the mental health of 1,683 schoolchildren in 2009 with a demographically-matched sample of 1,683 schoolchildren from 2014.