Anxiety levels among children on the rise: Study

ISTANBUL

An alarming 90 percent of children have expressed concerns about the welfare of their family members, 62 percent expressed fear of parental unemployment, and 57 percent expressed worries about the state of the economy, according to a recent study by Istanbul Bilgi University.

The research was conducted across 803 households in 100 neighborhoods of Istanbul through face-to-face interviews with children between the ages of 12-18 and their parents.

According to the research, children’s satisfaction with life decreased as the socioeconomic status of the family decreased. While the life satisfaction rate of children with medium and high socioeconomic status was 70 percent, this rate decreased to 47 percent among children with the lowest socioeconomic status.

The survey also provided data on the foods consumed by children. Accordingly, while cheese, eggs and milk are consumed in all income groups, there is a two-fold difference between high- and low-income groups in the consumption of red meat two or more times a week. While the consumption of fish two or more times a week decreased to 2 percent in the low socioeconomic group, the rate of eating sweets and junk food when going out remained below 7 percent in the same group.

In the study, which revealed a high rate of children watching TV in their free time, it was determined that 91 percent of children use social media at least once a day. This rate decreased to 83 percent among children with low socioeconomic status.

While children with high socioeconomic status preferred to use WhatsApp, Instagram and TikTok, YouTube stood out as the common denominator for all groups. While 86 percent of children felt safe while using social media, this rate decreased to 75 percent among children with the lowest socioeconomic status.