Girls were more than twice as likely as boys to suffer symptoms of mental ill health, according to a government study

The number of middle-class teenage girls suffering from anxiety or depression has surged in the past decade with more than a third now experiencing symptoms of “psychological distress”.

A government study into the mental wellbeing of 30,000 teenagers, seen by The Times, found that girls were more than twice as likely as boys to suffer symptoms of mental ill health.

The proportion of girls with anxiety or depression has risen by 10 per cent in a decade. Those from more affluent and better-educated families had worse symptoms than those from less-advantaged backgrounds.

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Experts said that the study provided the clearest evidence yet of a “slow-growing epidemic” of mental health issues in schools and called for a new strategy to reverse the trend. Some blamed