Girls' growing pains

Girls as young as 10 are suffering anxiety and unhappiness as they struggle to cope with the pressures of growing up, according to research

Girls as young as 10 are suffering stress, anxiety and unhappiness as they struggle to cope with the pressures of growing up, according to research out today.

Emotional well-being is being harmed by factors such as premature sexualisation and materialism, the study by Girlguiding UK and the Mental Health Foundation found.

A sixth of the girls polled, aged 10 to 15, said they often feel anger, while half feel angry some of the time. Almost two thirds said they sometimes feel sad, with half finding sadness difficult to cope with.

When it comes to mental health, half said they know someone who has suffered depression, two-fifths know someone who has self-harmed, a third have a friend who has suffered an eating disorder and two in five know someone who has experienced panic attacks.

Growing pains

Chief Guide Liz Burnley said: "Young girls today face a new generation of pressures that leave too many suffering stress, anxiety and unhappiness.

"All of us who care about young women have a part to play in helping them find a way through these conflicting demands to build the confidence they need to be themselves.''

Dr Andrew McCulloch, Chief Executive of the Mental Health Foundation, said: "Girls and young women are being forced to grow up at an unnatural pace in a society that we, as adults, have created and it's damaging their emotional well being.

"We have a responsibility to put this right - we must tackle head on the difficulties that the younger generation are facing.''

Pressure to own material goods like clothes, iPods and mobile phones, left one in five girls feeling angry or sad, according to the report, A Generation Under Stress?

And two in five felt worse about themselves after looking at pictures of models, pop stars and actresses. Bullying, exam stress and family turmoil, were also factors identified as making matters worse.

The research was carried out using an online survey of 350 girls and eight separate focus groups involving 54 girls.