It’s well documented that teen mental health plunged during the pandemic. But according to an article in The Conversation by two psychology professors – a research team that studies children and their social and emotional development – new studies suggest that “teen girls in particular are suffering in unprecedented ways.”

The CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2011-2021 showed that 57% of high school girls reported “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness in the past year,” up from 36% in 2011. That’s nearly double the 29% of males who reported having those feelings in 2021.

Even worse, 30% of the girls surveyed reported seriously considering suicide and 13% attempted suicide at least once in 2021, a “shocking, appalling” reality.

Elizabeth Englander and Meghan McCoy, psychology professors at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts, turned their attention to the mental health of youth during the pandemic. Since 2020, they have noted a shift in depression and suicidal thoughts amongst girls in particular.

What factors are converging to create a mental health crisis for girls?

According to the authors, a number of factors are creating a perfect storm for girls:

• Prior CDC research has shown that the pandemic disproportionately affected girls. “And in a 2021 study that our team conducted with 240 teens, 70% of girls said that they “very much” missed seeing people during the pandemic,” versus only 28% of boys reporting that sentiment.
• Social media can be “a wonderful source of support” as well as “a crushing blow to the self-esteem and psychological well-being of girls.”
• All young people – boys and girls alike – are struggling with issues like climate change and social upheaval, which are no mere abstractions but dictate their future. “Children and teens are usually neither indifferent to nor unaware of political realities,” the authors assert.

So how can parents, teachers, and friends support girls?

Here are six evidence-based strategies to support the mental health of girls.

1. Emphasize social support

“Social and emotional connectivity between humans is likely one of the most potent weapons we have against significant stress and sadness,” say Englander and McCoy. Studies have shown strong links between a lack of parental and peer support and depression during the tween and teen years. Friendship can “also help mitigate the link between extreme adolescent anxiety and suicidal thoughts.” In another teen study, social support was linked to greater resilience, like being able to withstand the cruelty of bullying.

2. Support one another instead of competing

“During the 1970s and 1980s, competition between women was seen as something that held women back,” the authors note. But this sentiment of solidarity has been drowned in “the tsunami of media coverage about bodies, looks and social achievement.” Studies have shown that social media encourages competition between girls, especially with respect to their physical appearance.

Girls can be taught to be cheerleaders of one another, supporting each other as an antidote to all the social competition.

3. Focus on girls’ achievements

While noticing how you look is natural, “an overemphasis on what you look like is clearly not healthy, and it is strongly associated with depression and anxiety, especially in women.”

Adults can send the message that girls’ value does not reside in how they look, instead calling out girls’ intelligence, their scientific, literary, athletic or artistic ability, or other talents. Helping children discover what they love to do and what they are good at “can be a source of great satisfaction in life.”

4. Empowering women

Give girls something to aspire to. Point out examples of women in all walks of life contributing to society. Teach the history of how women helped achieve women’s right to vote. Over the centuries, women have spearheaded social movements and fought for people’s rights. Showcase female renowned scientists, writers, artists and experts of all kinds.

5. Take an honest look at social media

Social media for teens is ubiquitous. Its “outsize role” in the lives of teens is “magnified for teenage girls, for whom every social media interaction may feel consequential and potentially cataclysmic.” Social media can be a minefield of comparison and potential feelings of social exclusion, and while it affects both boys and girls, “the potential for emotional distress seems to be higher for girls.”

Adults can help mitigate the negative messages girls can absorb on social media keeping an open conversation about “how social media influences their feelings, their self-perception and even their body image.”

6. Teach kids to recognize their feelings

For many people, children and adults alike, “learning to recognize and label feelings doesn’t come automatically,” said Englander and McCoy. Thankfully, kids can learn how to identify when they are experiencing anxiety or depression, and ways to lessen the effects: hugging their pet, talking to their parents, or playing a game can all be useful tools once they know what they are feeling.

“We think it’s worth noting that everything discussed here can also be helpful for boys, who are by no means immune to mental health problems,” the authors add. Recognizing their achievements and helping them understand how moods can be swayed by social media or online behavior is a positive step to promote mental health in both boys and girls.

Read the full article here.

Englander, Elizabeth and McCoy, Meghan. “How to help teen girls’ mental health struggles – 6 research-based strategies for parents, teachers and friends.” The Conversation, 23 Feb 2023, https://theconversation.com/how-to-help-teen-girls-mental-health-struggles-6-research-based-strategies-for-parents-teachers-and-friends-200052.