Loneliness and anxiety have increased, especially among girls, according to a new THL student well-being survey.
Most of the children and young people surveyed by the institute’s regular student health and well-being survey said they were happy with their lives, but the satisfaction rate had fallen this year from the level last measured in the fall of 2019, long before the arrival of Covid time constraints.
Children were more likely than in previous years to say that they felt lonely, anxious, and suffering from school exhaustion.
This year’s study found that about a quarter of girls experienced loneliness “quite often” or “all the time” as the Covid crisis continued from April to February and distance learning increased their isolation.
Girls were also more likely to have experienced anxiety, with 30 percent saying their anxiety levels were “ moderate ” or “ severe ”. Between 2013 and 2019, 13 to 20 percent of girls reported anxiety.
About 10 percent of young male respondents in this year’s survey said they experienced loneliness during the period and about eight percent said they experienced anxiety.
1.5 years is a long time for children
THL Development Manager Jenni Helenius said one factor behind the deteriorating results was the Covid crisis. Targets to prevent the spread of the disease resulted in monthly distance learning and the suspension of hobbies and social activities.
"A year and a half is a long time in a young person’s life. For example, the first high school experience of eighth- and ninth-grade respondents has been during this time of exceptional circumstances," he explained.
At the same time, the epidemic has also affected boys ’education and hobbies in the same way, Helenius explained.
"The difference between girls and boys can be partly explained by how the questions in the survey were answered. Maybe the girls will reveal more [about their feelings] or are better able to recognize signs of anxiety. It is important to remember that boys also need support," he said.
Helenius said the results of the welfare study were in line with what experts and policymakers have feared — that the exceptional circumstances surrounding the coronavirus have hit young people in particular.
"If you think of the youngest respondents in the fourth and fifth grades, a third said they were worried about their beloved Covid," he explained.
Sexual harassment is on the rise
The THL study has shown a steady increase in sexual harassment of girls in recent years.
Two years ago, less than 20 percent of young female respondents reported being sexually harassed. In this year’s survey, nearly half of the girls said the same.
According to the responses, such harassment has taken place over the telephone, the Internet and, to some extent, in public places.
The increase in allegations of sexual harassment two years ago was due to awareness raised by the #metoo social media campaign.
The survey, which asked more than 260,000 children and young people, regularly measures children’s well-being, participation in activities, leisure, functional capacity, lifestyles, education, use of school-based health resources, and their living environment.
THL has been conducting the survey since 1996. The survey included children in the fourth and fifth grades of primary school, young people in the eighth and ninth grades, and first- and second-year students in high school and vocational school.
Source: The Nordic Page