A new study into the health of Scottish youngsters has found declining mental health patterns among 13 to 15-year-old girls.
Academics at St Andrews University say substantially more girls are reporting psychological stress, health complaints including nervousness and low mood and medicine use than boys
The study involved young people reporting their feelings and habits.
Among the headline findings, researchers noted an increase in young people feeling pressured by schoolwork since 2006, especially among 15-year-old girls 80% compared to 60% boys.
More than half of 15-year old girls reported having two or more health complaints more than once a week, compared to 29% of boys this age.
Girls were also twice as likely as boys to be on a diet and 13-15-year-old girls are considerably less likely to report that they feel good looking, compared to boys the same age.
More than half of 15-year-old girls reported their body is too fat, despite only 10% of this group being classified as overweight or obese.
Candace Currie, director of the Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit at St Andrews University, said: “We have observed concerning changes in teenage girls’ mental health, especially over the past four years.
“In 2014 15-year old girls are around twice as likely as boys to report irritability, nervousness and low mood.”
Of those surveyed, fewer than one in five meet the Scottish Government’s physical activity guidelines of at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise every day.
Moreover, 64% report watching television for two or more hours a day and 65% of boys report playing computer games for at least two hours a day.
The findings also suggest a decline in the proportion of 15-year-old girls having sex however, those that did reported a decline in the use of condoms.
One-third of young people report not using a condom or birth control pills at the time of last intercourse.