Youths believe future is 'bleak'

The charity said work was needed so young Scots could reach their potential

One in five young Scots believe they have little chance of making a success of their lives, a report has claimed.

The study, for Action for Children Scotland, brought together official figures and a survey of 2,685 people.

The report concluded that young people raised in disadvantaged circumstances faced the bleakest prospects.

It revealed 18% of 17 to 25-year-olds said they had little chance of making it in life, whereas 10% held that view in a similar poll carried out in 2003.

But the annual Factfile Scotland report also found that 84% of those surveyed felt satisfied with their lives.

Youthlink Scotland questioned 1,685 pupils aged 11 to 16 and 1,000 17 to 25-year-olds last year for the report.

It said that one in four children in Scotland was officially recognised as poor.

Those who grew up in the poorest areas were less likely to do well at school and more likely to offend, suffer poor health and unemployment, it claimed.

'Remove barriers'

The report also said about 10% of children and adolescents in deprived areas would have a mental health problem of sufficient severity to affect them on a daily basis.

Action for Children Scotland said it welcomed the Scottish Government's commitment to improve the lives of children.

But it said more work was needed to ensure there were opportunities for every young Scot to realise their potential.

Andrew Girvan, director of children's services for the charity, said: "One of the key messages from this and previous Factfile reports is that there are still far too many children and young people in Scotland who, because of difficulty or disadvantage, never get the chances to make the most of their lives.

"We must continue to work together to remove these barriers and improve the lives of all Scotland's children."