Stressed Out at 7 Years Old

Children as young as 7 years old are stressed out about issues such as global warming, violent crime and international terrorism, as well as personal problems, according to a new study in Britain. The research, based on 700 in-depth interviews with children aged 7 to 11, found that kids live with "pervasive anxiety," the Guardian reports.

World worries are exacerbated by problems closer to home, researchers found. Kids fret constantly about standardized tests and classroom friendships. "Responses reveal a pervasive anxiety about the current educational and social contexts, and a deeper pessimism about the world in which today's children are growing up," the report states. (More Community Soundings stories.)