Why are our young so stressed?

Shocking numbers of our teenagers are stressed and the problem is rising. Whether you look at self-report, referrals for mental health problems or students seeking counselling as they enter university, it seems that the numbers of adolescents suffering from excessive stress have doubled since the 1980s.

Why? Many of the pressures on the young (exams, bodily changes, the advent of sexuality, relationships, the challenges of growing up toward adult independence) are common across the generations. What new pressures do our young face that their predecessors did not?

The common suggestion is that the rise in teenage stress relates to increasing family break-up; to the increasing tensions and dangers of our world; to the new pressures created by social media, which bring increased social scrutiny, increasing pressure to conform to ever higher peer expectations, a new form of bullying that can invade even your home, your bedroom. But such factors do not offer a convincing explanation.