Report on From Happy to Depressed: How Do You Feel?

Smart girls decide for themselves™.

Who responded?

Most girls than boys responded to our survey about feeling happy or sad: 459 - 19. However, 24 chose not to respond to this question at all. Most people were either the oldest (185 responders) or the youngest (142 responders). Some were in the middle (85), and some were only children (60 responders). We also had a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds represented. Of African descent, we had 52 responders. We had 48 people take our survey from Asian descent, and 143 from European descent. There were 47 people from Latin, and nine of Middle Eastern, ancestry. A total of 19 survey takers were of Native American or Pacific Islander ancestry. Interestingly, 63 people identified themselves as multiracial or multiethnic, and 121 did not give an identity at all. What a diverse bunch! Finally, we heard from people from around the world! We had responders from Hong Kong and Hungary, to Germany and Ghana! Thanks to everyone who responded!

Age of Survey Responder

Most of the people who responded were between 11 and 16 years old.

My Home is in a...

This pie chart displays the percentages of where responders told us they live!

The Nitty Gritty of Being Happy

How often would you describe yourself as happy?

The majority of responders said that they felt happy at least some or most of the time.

Where are you the happiest?

count percent where_happy home 79 16.56 school 88 18.45 practice 18 3.77 vacation 51 10.69 religious 12 2.52 rehearsal 22 4.61 friend's 101 21.17 other 106 22.22

Responders were generally happy at home, school, and at their friends' places.

When you are the happiest, who are you with?

count percent who_happy myself 38 7.93 friends 216 45.09 family 43 8.98 extended_fam 21 4.38 classmates 7 1.46 gf/bf 112 23.38 other 42 8.77

Responders were happiest with their special someone or their friends.

How often do you laugh?

Good news! A lot of responders said that they laugh everyday.

The Downside

We asked about what makes you guys sad, and got a lot of different answers. Some of what we heard was: Body issues! Family problems Bullying Relationships or crushes What is going on in the news Friend and classmate problems Saying goodbye.

How often do you cry?

The biggest responses were: every few days, every few weeks, and every few months.

A lot of survey-takers told us that they turned to their friends or parents for comfort (299 and 127 responses, respectively). You also told us that you turned to teachers or counselors (13 and 16 responses). Or, other siblings or other family members (53 and 54 respondes). Some people even turned to religious leaders when they were feeling down (12 responders).

If I have a problem or am feeling sad, I am most likely to...

People tended to either tell someone, or decide to keep their troubles to themselves.

What sorts of activities make you feel better?

count percent better drugs/alcohol 22 0.94 eating 152 6.5 smoking 21 0.9 sleeping 188 8.03 music 327 13.97 movie 210 8.97 videogames 112 4.79 shopping 167 7.14 friends 277 11.84 sports 111 4.74 family 111 4.74 bf/gf 152 6.5 writing 165 7.05 reading 181 7.74 art 101 4.32 no answer 5 0.21 other 38 1.62

There were a lot of different outlets people used when they felt blue.

One question asked about mood swings, and how often they changed. People were pretty evenly split between their experiences with moods. About one-third reported feeling like their moods are pretty stable - that they don't really change unless something major happens. Another third said that they felt like their moods can depend - sometimes they feel stable and sometimes their mood changes pretty quickly. The last third told us that they felt like their moods tended to swing - they could quickly feel happy or sad.

How often do you feel depressed?

Few responders said that they had never felt depressed before.

People sometimes say that teenagers are moody. When we asked what you thought of us, we got a lot of good answers. Here are some that we picked out: That's a stereotype! That's true - but teenagers go through a lot, so give us a break! It depends on the person; we aren't all moody. I disagree, that's too broad.

In your day-to-day life, who or what affects your mood?

Friends, family, school, and special someones all affect your moods.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with us!

Please remember that all web-based polls are not scientific because the pollsters cannot randomly select the respondents to participate in the surveys.

All our surveys are anonymous; check out our privacy policy. All data copyright 1996-2007.