Many young people in the Southeast Brabant region are feeling out of sorts lately. This is evident from a study by the GGD South East-Brabant in which 8000 young people between the ages of 12 and 18 participated.
The research shows that even before the corona crisis it was not going so well with the young people in this region. Loneliness and stress play an important role in this. This is caused by school, far-reaching events such as divorces.
Compared to four years earlier, when the research was last done, the loneliness among young people has increased. In 2015, a quarter of young people felt lonely, but this is now increased by a third. Above all, there is a lack of good contact with peers. Serious loneliness also risen from two to five percent.
In addition, one in six young people feel mentally unhealthy. this is 1.5 times more than in 2015. 35 percent feel stressed by school, homework, social media, and a part-time job. The number of young people committing suicide has also risen from 8 to 13 percent. There is no increase in the number of attempts.
Health
The physical health of young people is getting better and better. The number of young people smoking decreased from five percent in 2011 to two percent in 2019. Compared to 2007, young people start drinking 1.4 years later. On average, that’s at present at 16.2 years old.
However, the number of young people taking soft or hard drugs has risen slightly. Six percent of young people say they have used laughing gas.
For more information on this, you may mail the GGD.
