MERCER ISLAND, Wash. - It's a neighborhood of wealth and privilege. But growing up on Mercer Island does have some apparent drawbacks.

A recent study commissioned by the Mercer Island Youth and Family Services reveals teens on the island have significantly higher levels of anxiety, depression and substance abuse than their peers in less wealthy neighborhoods.

"We knew that youth used drugs and alcohol; we knew that they used marijuana," said Cindy Goodwin, a spokesperson for Youth and Family Services. "I think some of the things we were surprised about was the high level of anxiety and depression, some of the thought disorders, some of the internal issues that youth deal with."

The study of found that while students were generally substance-free in eighth grade, the number started to skyrocket come 10th grade.

"It is definitely higher than national norms," said researcher Suniya Luthar. "But again, this is not unique to Mercer Island. Every single upper middle class community we've gone to, we see elevated levels of substance use among the girls and boys."

Luthar also says that while an average of 7 percent of youth report significant depression or anxiety nationwide, the kids on Mercer Island and other upper middle class communities have a rate two to three times that amount.

Last year, every junior high and high school student on Mercer Island was given a chance to fill out questionnaires and participate in this study. As a result, the teenagers we spoke with say they weren't surprised by the findings."

"I think a lot of the parents are very educated and have gone to very good colleges and they have the same expectations for their children," said student Claire George. "And I think that over the years the competition to get into college has definitely gotten more difficult, and so it's kids always constantly doing something to get into college."

"You've got higher expectations that the kids are putting on themselves," said Chris Winterbauer, student. "When they fail to meet those goals, it's easy to get stressed out. It's easy to fall into depression."

A group has now been formed on Mercer Island called Communities that Care.

Through a mix of parents, educators, clergy and kids, they're hoping to take some of the stress out of being a Mercer Island student.