TEEN UK: A GENERATION SITTING ON A MENTAL HEALTH TIMEBOMB

Experts reveal the great harm young people are doing themselves now
and for the future.

Dr Dylan Griffiths has spent more than 20 years healing the minds of
troubled teenagers. But the psychiatrist is shocked by what he is now
facing on a daily basis. He is treating record numbers of disturbed
young patients, unable to cope with the pressures of modern life, who
are hooked on drink, drugs and underage sex, or who are so desperate
they even contemplate suicide.

The age of experimentation among Britain's teenagers is dropping
every year, he and other leading health workers warn, creating a
mental health time bomb which will create a generation of dysfunctional adults.

"For today's teens, marijuana, cocaine and alcohol are as ubiquitous
as traffic on the street," said Dr Griffiths, who is based at
Ticehurst House Hospital in East Sussex.

"Adolescents who self-harmed were rare 30 years ago. Today,
self-harming is a dramatic, addictive behaviour, a maladaptive way
for growing numbers of youngsters to relieve their psychological distress."

The shocking extent of teen angst among Britain's youth is revealed
tomorrow in one of the most comprehensive reports ever carried out
into adolescent mental health. Backed by counsellors, drug experts
and mental health charities including Sane, the independent study
commissioned by the Priory Group paints a bleak picture of the
growing mental-health crisis among 12- to 19-year-olds.

Family break-up, increasing pressure to achieve at school, a lack of
tolerance in society and an "anything goes" attitude are all
contributing to a rise in the number of young people pushed to the
brink of suicide, with others driven to experiment with drugs, drink
and underage sex as a way of coping with stress.

More than 900,000 adolescents have been so miserable they have
considered suicide, the study says. A million have wanted to
self-harm and more than half a million have experienced bullying or
violence at home.

The Priory research is based on interviews with 1,000 girls and boys
across the country as well as an analysis of figures provided by the
Office of National Statistics. More than one in seven 14-year-olds
and one in 25 young people of 13 said they had had sex. Around one in
every 13 teenage boys and girls said they had gone through with sex
because of peer pressure, not because they wanted to.

Ministers are discussing measures to make family doctors warn police
and social workers about young patients who are having under-age sex.

Peer pressure was also to blame for many adolescents using alcohol or
drugs - one in 20 teenagers of 13 and around one in six 15-year-olds
had experimented with illegal substances in the belief that it would
make them look "cool" and be better accepted at school.

Another worrying trend is the increase in teenagers who have such low
self-esteem that they think they need radical surgery to make them
look "normal". Nearly one in five 15-year-old girls and boys and one
in every 20 young people of 13 said they had considered plastic surgery.

Counsellors, drug experts and mental health charities agree that
action is needed urgently to prevent a generation of young people
growing up with serious mental health problems. Dr Angharad Rudkin, a
children's therapist, said that the internet and mobiles, which have
given rise to text bullying, were factors.

"There is a lot more stress now in the education system and a
pressure on teenagers to be thin, beautiful, successful and to have
sex," said the clinical psychologist, based in Basingstoke,
Hampshire. "There's less guidance for teenagers, less mentoring and
fewer role models for positive behaviour."

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of Sane, said that increased
availability of drugs was a huge factor in the rise in young people
suffering from mental illness.

"Young people who may have symptoms of mental illness rumbling under
the surface are being pushed to flashpoint very quickly because of
binge drinking and the availability of drugs, particularly chemical
hybrids," she said. "Many of them will go on to develop lasting
mental illness."

Virginia Ironside, the agony aunt and writer, said that the "curse"
of a wealthy society was that young people had too much choice, so
were confused about their identity.

"Pressures are absolutely nothing compared with what they used to be
- - pressure used to be going up chimneys. But at least if you are
going up a chimney you know where you are."

DRINK: Emma East, 15

"My home life stresses me out as I often have fights with my family.
It means I can't concentrate in school and it affects my schoolwork.
My family don't get on at all. I got really badly drunk once and was
sick in the pub, so I haven't touched the stuff since last Christmas.
I had a really bad experience and don't want to touch the stuff any
more. I've been to church for the past five years. My parents don't
go; I go by myself. You learn things there to help you in your
everyday life. It's a support network."

72% of 14-year-olds have consumed alcohol

DRUGS: Sevim Hodge, 16

"It starts at secondary school, where there is a huge emphasis on
status. Drugs offer an easy solution to these pressures. From the age
of 13 I was smoking cannabis with my friends. It was only my own
willpower that helped me stop, and what I saw happening to my
friends. I'm still friends with people who take drugs and at least a
third of them now are regular users, but it can easily spiral out of
control. I've seen cocaine taken openly in the playground."

53% of 16-year-olds have tried illegal substances such as marijuana or cocaine

BULLYING: Michael Licudi, 17

"I was targeted by homophobic bullies outside my school and ended up
on anti-depressants. Being gay, I've struggled because US rap culture
promotes masculine stereotypes in schools. The media, particularly
programmes such as Little Britain and The Catherine Tate Show, also
legitimise a certain way of saying and doing things. If you don't
match those stereotypes, then it makes acceptance much more
difficult. There has always been a cool group, but media influence
gives them an added legitimacy and power."

28% of 13-year-olds are bullied at school

SELF HARM: Imogen Townley, 15

"It's a bit weird, but a lot of girls in my year cut themselves. I
think it's supposed to be some kind of statement, because they roll
their sleeves up in class to show the marks. It's like they're trying
to say, 'Look at me, I'm so stressed out, so messed up and
misunderstood, so beautiful but lonely.' But all they're trying to do
is get attention."

19% of 15-year-olds have wanted to hurt themselves

SEX: Amari Nunesi, 14

"Of course teenagers are going to have sex. We like doing it, it's as
simple as that. We like it as much as adults do. Society can't stop
it. Nobody can stop it. The only thing that would stop it is if they
made more ugly girls. Family-wise it's more difficult for teenagers
now, because a lot of people don't have two parents, so they don't
know who to go to with their problems. Sometimes you want to speak to
your mum about something, but if you're staying with your dad you can't."

32% of 14-year-olds have had sexual intercourse

STRESS: Steph Ashcroft, 13

"There are people from my school who have anger management
counselling, and others who have counselling for depression and
abnormal behaviour. I guess about 10 people in my year are having
therapy. There are some kids who have hit teachers over the head with
chairs. Sometimes they just go ape and throw everything about. There
are a lot of people at school with a lot of issues, unfortunately. I
get tense myself sometimes. I got an after-school detention last week
for calling one of the teachers a stroppy cow."

15% of 14-year-olds have considered taking their own lives

BODY IMAGE: Sebastian Emin, 13

"I am happy with my body but I would definitely change my height. I
used to get picked on because I'm only 4ft 6in. Everyone sees
something they don't like about themselves. If you take a photo, you
look at your lips or your eyes and you think they look horrible. We
always find something wrong with ourselves. I think Peter Andre has
got the perfect body. He's more popular because of his looks -
particularly his muscles. Britney Spears has the perfect female
figure. She's so slim."

15% of 14-year-olds have considered plastic surgery