One in four 14-year-old girls in UK has self-harmed
ONE in four 14-year-old girls in the UK has self-harmed, Children’s Society research has found, and it said girls are more unhappy than boys at school for the first time.
Using data based on a survey of 11,000 people, the charity estimated that nearly 110,000 children aged 14 – 76,000 girls and 33,000 boys – may have self-harmed across the UK during the course of one year.
Matthew Reed, chief executive at The Children’s Society, said the findings were “deeply worrying”.
The data also shows that girls are less happy than boys with school life, a reversal of earlier trends that showed girls have been happier than boys since 2003.
The charity analysed data from the ‘Understanding Society’ survey, which includes children aged 11-15. They were asked to rank their happiness with various aspects of life out of 10.
The overall happiness gap between girls and boys has also widened, with the most recent data showing that boys rate their lives as 8.17 out of 10 on average while the average for girls was 7.8.
Girls are still significantly happier than boys with their school work, which suggests that the social side is causing them unhappiness.
“We found that jokes and comments in school about looks and sexual activity, and sharing of photos or videos of classmates’ bodies all had a big impact on girls,” said Mr Reed. “Maybe some boys feel this kind of attention boosts their ‘street-cred’, but this is not true of girls.
Explain
“These things made girls feel much worse about their appearance and their life, and may help explain why they are more likely to feel depressed or to self-harm.”
One young person told the charity: “I felt like self-harming was what I had to do as there was nothing else I could do. I think there is help for young people but not the right kind of help.”
Almost half of 14-year-olds who said they had been attracted to people of the same gender or both said they had self-harmed (46pc), analysis revealed.
“It is deeply worrying so many children are unhappy to the extent that they are self-harming,” added Mr Reed. “Worries about how they look are a big issue, especially for girls, but this report shows other factors such as how they feel about their sexuality and gender stereotypes may be linked to their unhappiness.”
He added: “Ministers must urgently address the £2bn shortfall facing council children’s services departments by 2020.”
Roy Perry, who chairs the Local Government Association children and young people board, said the figures revealed a “crisis in children’s mental health”.
He said: “We are calling for councils and schools to be given the funding to offer independent mental health counselling so pupils have access to support as and when they need it.
“Many councils are being forced to cut early intervention work, including youth services, which helps children avoid reaching crisis point, perform better at school and avoid mental health issues in later life.”
He added: “We need to develop a system that says yes, rather than no, to children when they ask for help.” (© Daily Telegraph London)