Children obsessed with fashionable clothes and technological gadgets could be at higher risk of mental health problems, psychologists warn.

Many feel under pressure to have the latest in everything from toys to trainers and are left anxious and depressed if they are unable to keep up with trends.

The findings, from the Children's Society's inquiry into the state of childhood, make disturbing reading for parents who frequently cave in to youthful "pester power".

The Archbishop of Canterbury, patron of the inquiry, will today attack the growing materialism he believes is damaging a generation of children.

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Dr Rowan Williams will claim a "culture of material competitiveness" promotes "acquisitive individualism" at the expense of a sense of community and co-operation.

Among evidence submitted to the Good Childhood Inquiry are concerns that:

• Television is displacing the parental role, eclipsing "by a factor of five or ten the time parents spend actively engaging with children".

• Children need good adult role models, "not stick-thin fashion models, drug-addled rock stars or obscenely rich footballers".

• Advertising to children is "ruthless and exploitative".

Dr Williams said: "Children should be encouraged to value themselves for who they are as people rather than what they own."

Children are teased for "being different" and feel under pressure to be fashionable, the inquiry found.

One girl of ten said: "A lot of the time I feel I have to follow the trends and if I don't, people just laugh at me!"

Full article here.