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While mental health could be the major national cause in 2025 in France, a British child protection association demonstrates how the subject also concerns 15-year-old adolescents. In Europe, 16.6% of them say they are not happy with their existence. A figure which rises to 25.2% in the United Kingdom.
In Belgium, the administration in charge of health and personal assistance, known as Vivalis, has just launched a campaign aimed at 18-year-olds to encourage them to leave their homes with the aim of create connections, and preserve their mental health. In France, the app Lyynkwhich has just been launched and offers adolescents the opportunity to find a trusted adult with whom they can communicate and prevent them from closing in on themselves, has exceeded 200,000 downloads in less than two weeks. While the new Prime Minister wants to make mental health a major national cause for 2025, this theme is already at the heart of numerous initiatives to address this sensitive subject, which has long been ignored, particularly when it concerns young people. Generally, we talk about students. However, they are not the only ones concerned.
If the reality is difficult to hear, it is there: 16.6% of young Europeans aged 15 say they are not satisfied with their life, according to the 13th Good Childhood report produced by The Children Society. Young Britons appear to be the most unhappy, with 25.2% of respondents declaring that they are not happy with their existence, as do 24.4% of Poles and 23.6% of Maltese. But this is only the case for 6.7% of Dutch, 10.8% of Finns and 11.3% of Danes. In France, 15.6% of 15-year-olds believe that they are not happy.
To understand this notable difference between young Britons and their European counterparts, we must take into account the financial difficulties felt by some young Britons. Thus, 41% are worried about rising prices while 11% skip meals due to lack of money. Overall satisfaction depends a lot on this aspect: 17% of young people living in a household that is struggling to make ends meet do not say they are happy, compared to only 9% of those who do not experience financial problems. Worse, there is a difference between the sexes. Among boys, one in five young Britons say they are dissatisfied. The ratio rises to one in three for girls.
Furthermore, the analysis of this British association which helps young people facing situations of abuse, neglect or exploitation demonstrates a decline in the opinion that young adolescents have of their existence. When the Understanding Society survey was launched in 2009/2010, British children surveyed were generally more satisfied than those surveyed in 2021/2022, it concluded. If their family life is judged rather positively, one of the aspects which contributes to their dissatisfaction concerns their appearance. No less than 15.6% of young Britons are not satisfied with what they physically reflect in front of everyone…