Story at a glance
- New research from Girl Scouts of the USA shows 64 percent of girls between 5- and 7-years old report feelings of loneliness.
- That number increases as girls get older, with 73 percent of girls 11 to 13 admitting they feel lonely.
- As feelings of loneliness increase, girls’ confidence in their ability to tackle life’s challenges drops.
Most girls report feeling lonely, according to new research from Girl Scouts of the USA.
The Girl Scouts hired Wakefield Research to conduct an online survey of 1,000 American girls between the ages of five and 13 in March.
The survey found that 64 percent of girls between the ages of 5 and 7, 67 percent of girls aged eight to ten, and 73 percent of girls ages 11 to 13 reported feelings of loneliness.
“We know that there is a loneliness crisis among today’s girls and that the pandemic led to major disruptions in their sense of community, to strains on their mental health and to a great deal of social isolation and anxiety,” said CEO of GSUSA Bonnie Barczykowski in a statement.
Numerous studies show that more kids are suffering from mental health conditions like anxiety and depression than in the past.
Clinicians know the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these conditions; it is still not clear why the mental health of American children is declining.
The survey’s findings also show that as feelings of loneliness increase, girls’ confidence drops.
While 86 percent of girls between five and seven said they believed in their ability to tackle challenges, that number drops to 80 percent among girls aged 8 to 10 and falls even lower to 73 percent among 11- to 13-year-olds.
“These findings underscore the urgent need for interventions that foster meaningful connections and self-assurance among young girls,” GSUSA said in a statement accompanying the survey’s findings.
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