The subjects of the future are an important source of ill-being, according to the barometer of the association, which are worried about a “worrying development”.
The very young are also affected by loneliness, according to the latest barometer of malaise in France by SOS Amitié published on Friday May 12 and which franceinfo was able to consult. According to this studyfrom 2020 to 2022, the number of callers under the age of 14 has indeed increased by 40%“. For SOS Friendship, it is a “worrying development”, because “callers are getting younger“.
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Constance, volunteer for three years in a branch of SOS Amitié in Paris, confirms this: eIt responds more and more to calls from young people under the age of 14. For “vsThis age group in particular, I would say that the calls are shorter, denser. We will quickly address the subjects of ill-being. So there may be less talk about rain and good weather. We go straight to the heart of the matter! It really requires being very, very focused.“
“They will talk about situations of their daily life”
A majority of these young callers evoke, in particular “relationship with their parents. 20% of their calls also mention “suicidal thoughts that are not necessarily accompanied by suicidal behavior such as scarification or anorexie”, details the barometer of SOS Amitié. On the line, “They will talk about situations that are close to their daily lives. So it’s true that we have a lot of parent-child situations, situations at school“, slips Constance. Some also mention their fear of the future linked to global warming and wars.
The association also recalls that during the Covid-19 health crisis, it “recorded an increase in calls about incest, abuse or feelings of loneliness. The subjects of the future are also a major source of unease“, among the youngest. 20% of calls from the youngest also mention “suicidal thoughts that are not necessarily accompanied by suicidal behavior such as scarification or anorexia“. In such cases, volunteers can go beyond listening. For Ghislaine de Saignes, president of SOS Amitié, this situation must not remain unanswered.We try to see with them if they have taken steps with their college or their high school. We can direct it to 31 14“, the national suicide prevention number that redirects to health professionals.
Still lots of distress calls from adults
According to this barometer of malaise in France, calls to SOS Amitié are increasingly linked “to mental health, depression and malaise” and the majority of callers stay in “the age group from 45 to 64 years old“. There is a majority of women who call, 60% of them do the process. According to the barometer, “people entering this age group already felt lonely before the Covid. The epidemic has pushed them into psychological problems, such as depression. Thus, the number of people evoking ideas suiciders increased by 44% compared to 2021“, according to the barometer of SOS Amitié.
Since 2021, nearly 100 volunteers have joined the association, bringing the number of listeners to more than 1,800. This figure is nevertheless too low with regard to the number of calls received, which has also increased by 244,000. compared to 2021. Out of 3,300,000 calls received in 2022, only 600,000 were answered, which corresponds to a rate of calls taken of 18%.