There’s a lot of things to worry about when you’re a parent of teenagers, and while many will worry they’ll get mixed up with drugs or alcohol, a new poll reveals parents should actually be worrying about something else entirely.
A new Pew Research poll finds teens themselves seem to be most worried about anxiety and depression amongst their fellow teens. In fact, 70% of teens say anxiety and depression is a major problem, which is way more than those who consider bullying (55%), drug addiction (51%), or drinking alcohol (45%) a major issue.
So, what are kids stressed out about? Well, getting good grades is a huge issue for 61% of those polled, but there’s plenty of pressure that doesn’t have anything to do with academics. Overall, 29% say they feel pressure to look good, and 28% feel pressure to fit in socially. Interestingly, only 4% say they feel pressure to use drugs, while 6% feel pressure to drink alcohol.
Of course, gender does play a roll in what pressures teens are dealing with. While both boys and girls do feel about the same pressure to get good grades, girls are more likely to feel pressure to look good than boys (35% vs. 23%), plus 36% of girls say they often feel nervous about their day, as compared to only 23% of boys.
And while some parents may think their teens don’t have any goals in their life, the opposite is actually true. The poll finds that 63% of teens have a goal to get a job or career the enjoy (63%), while 42% of teens say being able to help others in need when they grow up is extremely important to them. On a personal level, only 47% of teens rate getting married as extremely or very important, while 39% say having kids is, as well.