As researchers and mental health professionals, we typically observe that 20-25% of young people struggle with anxiety issues. However, if we are to believe the statistics recently conveyed in certain reports presented in the media, it would now be double the number of young people who suffer from anxiety.
Although we are aware that the pandemic may have affected the mental health of some, 50% of young people who suffer from anxiety is a lot. However, in research, it is often said that “extraordinary claims require extraordinary data”.
It is therefore important to ask whether these extraordinary claims, derived from real research results, can come from abusive interpretations. As scientific researchers and clinicians, we wish to inform the public of the various biases that can have an impact on the results obtained and on their interpretation. Thus, before asserting that more than half of young people suffer from an anxiety problem, several precautions must be taken.
It must be ensured that the portrait of the anxiety of young people has been obtained several times. During adolescence, it is expected and quite normal to experience significant and temporary negative emotions.
Having several symptoms of anxiety is therefore not a problem in itself. It only becomes worrying when these symptoms persist over time.
Thus, worrying about a high percentage of young people who say they experience manifestations of anxiety when these symptoms have only been measured once is a hasty conclusion.
It is necessary to check that the data obtained are not biased. Studies conducted online often lead to a bias such that the statistics reported only represent the reality of a portion of young people, that is, those who choose to respond to the survey. Thus, even if a study was carried out with a sample of thousands of young people, if only 50% of the young people invited to participate in the study responded to the survey, it is quite possible that the data only represents a partial portrait of the situation: that of the young people who are doing the worst. For what ? Because it’s a safe bet that young people who felt good did not feel challenged by the study and did not respond to the survey.
Nuance the negative
Avoid measuring only negatives. If a study only measures negative states, it will only find negative states. Having negative emotions during a time of upheaval is normal and healthy in itself. The intensity of these emotions is less concerning if young people use their optimism, resilience and other coping strategies. Unfortunately, these positive aspects are rarely measured in studies showing extraordinary statistics, or are very little presented in the media to qualify the negative portrait.
It is necessary to distinguish between normal anxiety and pathological anxiety. Anxiety is not always a problem. In fact, it is an essential emotion allowing to prepare for a situation that one finds important and which can even facilitate performance (for example: during an exam). This nuance is little presented to the public and the proportions of young people who experience moderate and severe levels of anxiety are often combined to obtain a more striking statistic. However, it is not at all certain that a moderate level of anxiety is harmful for young people who face daily stressors (for example: school transition, exam period or career choice).
Presenting extraordinary statistics on youth anxiety to the public could have serious consequences. First, always speaking negatively about anxiety in the public sphere could make young people fearful of feeling anxiety, which is often manageable, healthy and normal for the majority of them.
Studies show that this fear of experiencing anxiety can propel a young adult towards the development of an anxiety disorder.
Secondly, we fear that by dint of sending the message that more than half of young people suffer from anxiety, we are drowning out the voices of those for whom anxiety has become pathological, worrying and who indeed require targeted assistance. Their voices could get lost in a sea of young people encouraged to fear their “normal” anxiety, believing that they have a serious problem.
We therefore invite some criticism in the face of these very interesting data, but which require nuances. We must present the results of our research by avoiding catastrophizing and dramatizing words. Let’s stop scaring the public and instead favor a conclusion that allows young people to regain a sense of realistic control over their anxiety. This scientific rigor alone could help reduce stress and anxiety among young people and their parents.
*Co-signatories: Isabelle Plante, researcher, UQAM; Audrey-Ann Journault, doctoral student, University of Montreal; Réal Labelle, researcher and clinician, UQAM; Marie-France Marin, researcher, UQAM; Claudia Trudel-Fitzgerald, researcher, UQTR; Isabelle Ouellet-Morin, researcher, University of Montreal; Robert Paul Juster, researcher, University of Montreal; Stéphane Guay, researcher, University of Montreal; Pascale Brillon, researcher and clinician, UQAM; Jonathan Bluteau, researcher, UQAM; Marie-Claude Geoffroy, researcher, McGill University; Annie Dubeau, researcher, UQAM