While most 15-year-olds seems happy with their lives, according to an international study of students’ well-being, UK teenagers had a below average satisfaction score. Anxiety about exams and bullying remains a problem for many young people.
The findings are based on a survey of 540,000 students internationally by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development which showed an average satisfaction score of 7.3 on a scale from zero to 10. UK teens had a score of seven, reported the BBC. The study reveals large variations in life satisfaction out of 48 OECD countries and partner nations.
The highest levels of satisfaction were found in the Dominican Republic (8.5), Mexico (8.3) and Costa Rica (8.2), while the UK took 38th place for life satisfaction, behind the United States, France, Germany and Ireland – lower too, than Russia and Bulgaria.
Statistics for UK 15-year-olds showed that 72% said they felt very anxious before a test – even when well prepared; almost one in four (24%) were victims of one act of bullying at least a few times a month and around 15% were made fun of by others and 5% said they were hit or pushed at least a few times a month.
But teenagers perceived a high level of parental support, with 93% saying their parents encouraged them to be confident and 94% saying parents were interested in their school activities.
On average across OECD countries, about 11% of teenagers said they were frequently mocked, 7% were ‘left out of things’ and 8% were the subject of hurtful rumours. But the OECD research found less bullying in schools where students had positive relationships with their teachers.
Across OECD countries, about 55% of students said they were very anxious before a test, even if they were well prepared for it. Girls had a tendency to worry more than boys, with girls in all 72 countries reporting greater levels of schoolwork-related anxiety than boys.
The report found students spent more than two hours online during a typical weekday after school and more than three hours online during a typical weekend day. The majority said the internet was a great resource for obtaining information and more than half said they felt bad if no internet connection was available.
Support for school students – whether bullied, anxious about exams or lacking in self-esteem – is readily available through clinical hypnotherapy and the National Council for Hypnotherapy has almost 2,000 highly-trained and qualified therapists across the UK who can offer such help.
Says the NCH: “After sessions with a hypnotherapist you may feel more confident and more relaxed in situations that have previously challenged you.
“Many people say that they are calmer and that they have more clarity of thought – able to make decisions more easily. People who have experienced side effects of anxiety such as insomnia, find that they are sleeping much better and as a result are able to work more effectively.”
The national body adds that hypnotherapy helps people to make changes in their behaviour but it cannot force anyone to make any changes against their will.
“When you realise that you are the one in control, when you decide how deeply into hypnosis you wish to go, then you become aware of what hypnosis is. A hypnotherapist is a guide and helps you on a journey, but the change can only be made by you.
“Often the realisation that you are in control, and that you can make change yourself is very empowering. You’ll find that the more often you going into hypnosis, aware that you doing it, the more you realise how easy it is to let go, secure in the knowledge that you can always stop a session if you feel uncomfortable.
“It is as if hypnotherapy unlocks the potential you have to break free of negative thought patterns, and to react more positively and more confidently to situations in your life that may have previously made you anxious.”
If you or your child needs help in these matters, use the NCH Hypnotherapy Directory which lists all currently active NCH Registered Hypnotherapists – your assurance of a well trained, ethical and insured hypnotherapist.
For the most precise results, search using your full postcode. If you search using a town, county or partial postcode, the results will be from the centre of that area.