More Seoul elementary students report depression, anxiety
A recent study by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education found that there has been a steady increase over the last three years in the capital city of elementary school students experiencing symptoms related to depression and anxiety.
The study, conducted over three years beginning in 2021, included 113 elementary schools based in Seoul and surveyed 3,754 students. The study was conducted in the format of a focus group interview, which is a qualitative research method where participants engage in a guided discussion about a specific topic. Based on the conclusions drawn from the FGI study, the city's education office consulted with relevant mental health experts on signs of mental health concerns.
According to the Education Office's study, elementary students showing signs of depression on a three-point scale increased each year, from 0.51 point in 2021 to 0.66 in 2022 and 0.73 in 2023.
Students showing signs of anxiety also showed a steady increase among elementary school students over the three years. On a 1-point scale, the score increased from 0.44 in 2021 to 0.54 in 2022 and 0.58 in 2023.
Over the same period, elementary school students showing sensitivity in emotions increased from 0.41 point in 2021 to 0.49 point in 2023. As for students exhibiting pessimism, the study also noticed an increase from 0.17 in 2021 to 0.26 in 2023.
As for reasons behind the consistent decrease in mental health conditions among elementary students, the study pointed to several factors, including stress from academic pressure and peer-to-peer relationships, increased time spent on smartphones, greater exposure to social media and reduced sleep.
'There are more underage students nowadays using social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube, where they are able to indirectly experience what others' lives are like,' the report noted. 'This phenomenon can lead students to compare themselves to the glamorous lives of others, leading to feelings of relative deprivation.'
Other than these factors, however, the study suggested that overprotective parenting attitudes in Korea can also be said to have contributed to the rise in negative emotions.
'Children who are excessively emotionally protected and supported in the face of small concerns tend to have higher levels of anxiety and become easily discouraged by minor difficulties,' the study added. "Due to the trend of sensitive parenting and the incorrect approach of overly accommodating to children's emotions, elementary school students' emotional immunity is at a low level, making them more vulnerable to depression and anxiety."
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Korea Herald
20-05-2025
- Korea Herald
More Seoul elementary students report depression, anxiety
A recent study by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education found that there has been a steady increase over the last three years in the capital city of elementary school students experiencing symptoms related to depression and anxiety. The study, conducted over three years beginning in 2021, included 113 elementary schools based in Seoul and surveyed 3,754 students. The study was conducted in the format of a focus group interview, which is a qualitative research method where participants engage in a guided discussion about a specific topic. Based on the conclusions drawn from the FGI study, the city's education office consulted with relevant mental health experts on signs of mental health concerns. According to the Education Office's study, elementary students showing signs of depression on a three-point scale increased each year, from 0.51 point in 2021 to 0.66 in 2022 and 0.73 in 2023. Students showing signs of anxiety also showed a steady increase among elementary school students over the three years. On a 1-point scale, the score increased from 0.44 in 2021 to 0.54 in 2022 and 0.58 in 2023. Over the same period, elementary school students showing sensitivity in emotions increased from 0.41 point in 2021 to 0.49 point in 2023. As for students exhibiting pessimism, the study also noticed an increase from 0.17 in 2021 to 0.26 in 2023. As for reasons behind the consistent decrease in mental health conditions among elementary students, the study pointed to several factors, including stress from academic pressure and peer-to-peer relationships, increased time spent on smartphones, greater exposure to social media and reduced sleep. 'There are more underage students nowadays using social media platforms such as Instagram and YouTube, where they are able to indirectly experience what others' lives are like,' the report noted. 'This phenomenon can lead students to compare themselves to the glamorous lives of others, leading to feelings of relative deprivation.' Other than these factors, however, the study suggested that overprotective parenting attitudes in Korea can also be said to have contributed to the rise in negative emotions. 'Children who are excessively emotionally protected and supported in the face of small concerns tend to have higher levels of anxiety and become easily discouraged by minor difficulties,' the study added. "Due to the trend of sensitive parenting and the incorrect approach of overly accommodating to children's emotions, elementary school students' emotional immunity is at a low level, making them more vulnerable to depression and anxiety."
Korea Herald
08-05-2025
- Korea Herald
Do women who don't give birth live longer? Fact-checking controversial claim by medical professor
Public opinion split between accurate depiction of burden of childbirth and criticism of discouraging women from having kids South Korean medical professor Yoo Seong-ho's recent claim on the supposed trade-offs between longevity and multiple childbirths have sparked a controversy here, with some complaining that the comment disparages women from giving birth. Yoo, a professor of forensic medicine at Seoul National University College of Medicine, said in a YouTube video on his channel, Deadmantalk, that statistically, women who give multiple births have shorter lifespans whereas women who never gave birth age less. "It is true that women who give birth multiple times die at (relatively) earlier ages," he said in the video posted on his channel, after which he added that women who never gave birth do not age as much as women who did. When lawyer Seo Hye-jin, a female panelist in the video, said not being married may be a bigger factor in women aging less, Yoo reiterated that childbirth is the biggest factor and it is "the most critical." Yoo's remarks have sparked a heated debate online, with many internet users responding with anecdotal accounts of women who gave birth to multiple children and went on to live long, healthy lives. Some critics argued that such comments could discourage women from having children, which is "inappropriate" given South Korea's ongoing struggle with its chronically low birthrate. South Korea's total fertility rate -- the number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime -- was 0.75 in 2024, the lowest among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Other commenters said that the medical professional was just emphasizing the significant physical toll childbirth can take on the body. Does giving birth actually hurt life expectancy? While many believe that going through immense pain and burden of childbirth is detrimental to a woman's lifespan and health, the trade-off between being a parent and living long has not yet been proven. It is scientifically proven that pregnancy, childbirth and lactation demand a significant amount of extra energy, along with the obvious fact that labor is characterized by a very high level of pain. Researchers of Kent State University in Ohio found evidence pregnancy was associated with accelerated aging among Filipina women due to energy allocation of the body toward fecundity, in the study "A life for a (shorter) life: The reproduction–longevity trade-off." The energy spent on reproduction increases the chance of offspring survival, but minimization of somatic maintenance accelerates biological aging on the mother's part. But other reports based on census data have indicated that having children actually increases women's lifespans, for example the research "Payback time? Influence of having children on mortality in old age" by researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and Stockholm University. The study of the general population in Sweden showed that both men and woman with at least one child experienced lower death risks than men and women without children, which was also the case when effect of having a partner was taken into account. The Swedish state also provides generous support for raising children, such as universal subsidized child care and paid parental leave of 480 days per child to be shared by both parents.
Korea Herald
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- Korea Herald
Women who don't give birth live longer: medical professor's remark sparks controversy
Public opinion split between accurate depiction of burden of childbirth and criticism of discouraging women from having kids South Korean medical professor Yoo Seong-ho's recent claim on the supposed trade-offs between longevity and multiple childbirths have sparked a controversy here, with some complaining that the comment disparages women from giving birth. Yoo, a professor of forensic medicine at Seoul National University College of Medicine, said in a YouTube video on his channel, Deadmantalk, that statistically, women who give multiple births have shorter lifespans whereas women who never gave birth age less. "It is true that women who give birth multiple times die at (relatively) earlier ages," he said in the video posted on his channel, after which he added that women who never gave birth do not age as much as women who did. When lawyer Seo Hye-jin, a female panelist in the video, said not being married may be a bigger factor in women aging less, Yoo reiterated that childbirth is the biggest factor and it is "the most critical." Yoo's remarks have sparked a heated debate online, with many internet users responding with anecdotal accounts of women who gave birth to multiple children and went on to live long, healthy lives. Some critics argued that such comments could discourage women from having children, which is "inappropriate" given South Korea's ongoing struggle with its chronically low birthrate. South Korea's total fertility rate -- the number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime -- was 0.75 in 2024, the lowest among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Other commenters said that the medical professional was just emphasizing the significant physical toll childbirth can take on the body. Does giving birth actually hurt life expectancy? While many believe that going through immense pain and burden of childbirth is detrimental to a woman's lifespan and health, the trade-off between being a parent and living long has not yet been proven. It is scientifically proven that pregnancy, childbirth and lactation demand a significant amount of extra energy, along with the obvious fact that labor is characterized by a very high level of pain. Researchers of Kent State University in Ohio found evidence pregnancy was associated with accelerated aging among Filipina women due to energy allocation of the body toward fecundity, in the study "A life for a (shorter) life: The reproduction–longevity trade-off." The energy spent on reproduction increases the chance of offspring survival, but minimization of somatic maintenance accelerates biological aging on the mother's part. But other reports based on census data have indicated that having children actually increases women's lifespans, for example the research "Payback time? Influence of having children on mortality in old age" by researchers from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and Stockholm University. The study of the general population in Sweden showed that both men and woman with at least one child experienced lower death risks than men and women without children, which was also the case when effect of having a partner was taken into account. The Swedish state also provides generous support for raising children, such as universal subsidized child care and paid parental leave of 480 days per child to be shared by both parents.
