It’s official: Our teenage girls are among the most miserable in the world

SCOTLAND’S teenagers are among the unhappiest in the developed world, new research suggests.

Our 15-year-olds lag behind their peers in other countries including the US, Germany and Latvia on ‘life satisfaction’.

There is a major gender gap, with girls less likely than boys to be satisfied with life, and more likely to worry about their exams, according to the latest report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The study – based on the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) tests – found that, on a scale of one to ten, British pupils had an average satisfaction of 6.98, compared with the OECD average of 7.31.

In Scotland, it was 7.17, although the Scottish Government pointed out that this score was higher than the 6.94 for England.

The findings prompted concern last night that pupils are paying the price for the SNP’s controversial curriculum reforms which teachers say have led to unnecessary bureaucracy and assessment.

Scottish Conservative equalities spokesman Annie Wells said: ‘These are extremely important findings which will be alarming for parents across the country.

‘It’s completely unacceptable that growing up in Scotland should be riddled with more problems than other places across the developed world.’

She added: ‘The SNP has been in charge for ten years and has completely neglected this issue.

‘It’s bad enough that standards in literacy and numeracy are falling in our schools, but the fact young people seem unhappier makes that even worse.’

Scotland scored lower on life satisfaction than other nations such as France (7.63), Germany (7.35), Spain (7.42), Latvia (7.37) and the US (7.36), but ahead of others including Japan (6.80), Turkey (6.12) and Korea (6.36).

Among those with the highest ratings were Mexico (8.27) and Finland (7.89).

Overall, the UK took 38th place for life satisfaction, out of 48 OECD countries, with Scotland 37th.

Scottish boys had an average score of 7.6 compared to 6.7 for girls – the largest ‘gender gap’ of any nation participating in the survey.

Gabriela Ramos, OECD chief of staff, said the report showed some ‘worrisome’ results for gender that needed to be tackled.

‘Again, we confirm, and this is evidence, that girls report lower levels of satisfaction, that they are subject to a lot of pressures, from social media, that they are less happy with themselves,’ she added. Around 540,000 students took part in the latest PISA tests, representing some 29million 15-year-olds in 72 participating countries and economies.

Some 64 per cent of Scottish pupils complained they ‘often worry’ it will be difficult to take tests – the highest in the UK – compared to an OECD average of 59 per cent.

And 72 per cent of Scottish 15-year-olds were worried about receiving ‘poor grades’, again the highest in the UK and far higher than the OECD average of 65 per cent.

Last night, Barnardo’s chief executive Javed Khan said: ‘These findings highlight just how vital it is for children to have someone who believes in them.

‘A caring home is essential to children’s wellbeing and children themselves have told us that having someone to love, listen to, support and trust them is vital for them to lead happy lives.’

Last year a separate damning report suggested that the SNP’s Curriculum for Excellence could be damaging children’s mental health.

The Scottish Qualifications Authority published research which suggested that teachers and pupils were struggling with changes to the system, with many admitting they had lost confidence in it.

A Scottish Government spokesman said: ‘We recognise the impact that anxiety about school work can have on children, which is why health and wellbeing is a key priority of the Curriculum for Excellence.

‘All adults working in schools are responsible for supporting and developing mental, emotional, social and physical wellbeing to support successful learning and happy lives.’

‘Alarming for parents across the country’