The Children’s Society and University of York have released their eleventh report on the wellbeing of children in the UK, revealing a decline in self-confidence for young girls.
The 2016 Good Childhood Report revealed that 34% of girls aged 10-15 are unhappy with their appearance. This has increased from the charity’s earlier reports, which revealed that 30% were unhappy with their looks in 2010.
In contrast, just 20% of boys of the same age were unhappy with their looks and this has remained largely stable since 2010.
These findings are particularly concerning as the charity revealed that emotional problems, such as anxiety and depression, are linked to happiness with appearance.
According to The Children’s Society, there are now 699,700 girls who are unhappy with their appearance in the UK. This has increased 8% from the 647,400 reported in 2010.
Overall, the report said that between 2009 and 2014 girls reported a decline in levels of happiness with their appearance and life as a whole.
One teenage girl told the charity: “We’re expected to be perfect, like Barbie dolls or something and if we don’t them we get bullied.”
The report’s findings are based on a survey of 40,000 households in the UK.
The Office for National Statistics has separately noted that teenage girls are more likely to spend extended periods of time on social media, which has been linked to a higher risk of mental health problems.
Matthew Reed, Chief Executive at The Children’s Society, commented: “Girls are having a particularly tough time and it’s clear that concerted action is needed to tackle this problem.”
