Editor's note: Since this story was published, Zayn has announced he is quitting the band altogether and the promoters have said the UAE concert will go on without him.
Zayn Malik is off work because of “stress”. Since the 22-years old’s job is performing a world tour with his One Direction band mates, it’s little wonder his case is attracting a lot of attention.
But youngsters don’t get signed off work with stress, do they? How could singing and dancing in front of thousands of adoring fans be anything other than uplifting and therapeutic?
Firstly, stress is an odd word, more typically used in engineering when we stress test a new bridge or even a new mobile app.
In human terms, stress is more difficult to pin down. One definition is “the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change”. Non-specific is a vague, but arguably appropriate term. One person’s stress is another person’s best day ever. It is subjective.
When we lift the lid on human stress, what we tend to find are negative emotional states: anger, anxiety, sadness or a blend of all three. When such states persist and begin to interfere with our ability to function socially or at work, then mental health professionals might label it generalised anxiety or a depressive disorder.
Further reading: The puzzling growth of anxiety in the modern age
Zayn has been experiencing a negative emotional state, powerful enough to interfere with his ability to do his job. This must be upsetting for Zayn, his family and his fans. But these powerful, persistent negative emotional states are also becoming increasingly common and are experienced by millions of young people around the world.
Current indicators point to a dramatic rise in depression in young people. In the US over the past 30 years the rate of adolescent suicide has doubled, making it one of the leading causes of death among young people. The rate of major depressive disorders in young people sufficient to require hospitalisation has risen dramatically too.
The prevalence of childhood depression is now estimated at between 15 and 20 per cent by the American Psychiatric Association, or one in 10 by the US’s National Institute for Mental Health. That’s roughly the same rate as adult depression. Even more troubling is the theory that about 80 per cent of childhood depression goes untreated.
OK, so young people are angrier, sadder and more anxious than they were 30 years ago – but surely they just grow out of it? This is what is particularly problematic – the best predictor of a future depressive episode is a prior one, and someone who was depressed as a child is more likely to experience depression as an adult.
The strength of this link has led some to suspect that depression in adults has its roots in childhood. If this is true, then public health initiatives aim at preventing depression may find it particularly useful to examine what happens in the classroom.
Research over several decades has identified a number of important factors in helping children flourish at school, emotionally as well as academically. One glaringly obvious one is the teacher who not only helps develop a student’s academic competence but also influences their self-image.
Repeated failure caused by poor teaching styles can lead to unnecessarily negative self-images that can persist throughout life. One damning implication of this is a vulnerability to depression.
Teachers who allow students a lot of autonomy can profoundly influence whether they view the world as self-determining or overly fatalistic. Students of teachers who invite classroom participation tend to have less social isolation, broader student affiliation and fewer status-orientated friendships – all important factors in preventing childhood and later-life depression.
I’m not sure what Zayn’s school experiences were like, but his candid admission that stress has interfered with his ability to function goes some way towards destigmatising psychological problems. Feeling like it is OK to seek help and receiving appropriate early intervention are also a big part of preventing it becoming something more serious later.
Justin Thomas is an associate professor of psychology at Zayed University and author of Psychological Well-Being in the Gulf States
On Twitter: @DrJustinThomas
