Irish teenagers report lowest level of ‘daily irritability', study finds
Often seen as a normal part of adolescence, experts have warned it can be linked to mental health issues, feelings of life satisfaction, and bullying.
The emotion was found to be nearly universal across the nine countries studied — but its frequency varied widely.
Just under 7pc of Irish teenagers reported feeling irritable every day — roughly half the rate seen in Bulgaria and the United Arab Emirates, where adolescents reported the highest levels.
Around 10pc of Irish teens felt irritable more than once a week, while 36pc said they rarely or never experienced the emotion.
The research team — from institutions including Yale University, University College London, and Ulster University — said the findings highlight the importance of monitoring adolescent irritability as a marker of potential mental health risks.
They said that in recent years irritability has been increasingly linked to lasting negative outcomes — psychiatric, educational and social — which may persist into adulthood.
The study, which also compared levels of life satisfaction, found Irish adolescents reported higher satisfaction with their lives than their peers in China and the UAE, but lower than those in Mexico and Panama.
The findings are based on data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), which surveyed 15- and 16-year-olds from Bulgaria, Georgia, China, Ireland, Mexico, Panama, Serbia, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.
Adolescents were asked about experiences of bullying, their satisfaction with life, and their economic, social and cultural status. Females had higher irritability scores than males in all countries.
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