One in three teens are chronically stressed - Aftenposten

according to a new study from the University of Stockholm, rendered on forskning.no

grade pressure

Norwegian researchers highlights the pressure to do well in school as a cause of stress and mental health problems among young people, and believes the Swedish findings are transmitted to the Norwegian youth, and also gifted Norwegian youngsters are stressed in the struggle to get good grades.

Blown

Eight percent of the Swedish youth had such extensive problems that in a clinical situation with adults’d been diagnosed with burnout.

Especially bad were the problems among girls, and researcher Karin Schraml believe it is urgent to put in place programs to help young people cope with stress in everyday life.

– It is likely that the Norwegian and Swedish youth are relatively equal in this field, commenting associate professor of psychology Catharina Elisabeth Arfwedson Wang at the University of Tromsø (University of Tromsø) to forskning.no.

Calls for more research on high-sensitivity

They find it striking that so many of the so-called gifted kids are incredibly stressed, and believe that the youth are experiencing a fierce competition to have good enough grades to get the best student places and to succeed in general.

Half of the girls

In three different studies, Schraml surveyed the mental condition of the 16-year-olds in secondary schools in Stockholm. Schools are described as general academic elite schools, which prepares young people for academic studies.

Students were asked to report on how they did it, and Schraml also brought out their grades at the end of the year, to see they were affected.

– Idiot Punching in the public debate

Been going over time

30 percent reported severe stress symptoms such as fatigue and difficulty concentrating. 15 percent said that this had been going on for a long time, and eight percent had thus very serious ailments.

While one in five boys struggled with the stress of the investigation, said nearly half of the girls about the same.

– One wonders what it is that makes girls have a lot more of these disorders, says Ingunn Skre, who is also associate professor of psychology at the University of Tromsø.

Do not ask your doctor for advice!

Scientists know that some are biologically more vulnerable to anxiety and depression, but that it is often triggered by some stress.

Physical and psychological consequences

Stress is defined as the experience of not having enough resources to master the challenges of everyday life. Stress is not the same as depression or anxiety, but it can be a precursor to more serious mental health problems.

In addition, stress can provide physical reactions, such as that one is easier sick, burned out or that you have sleep problems.

Low self-esteem, poor sleep, experience the high demands and little support from the outside world were reasons that may explain why youth was stressed, study shows Schraml.

Sleep problems are also not just a consequence of stress, but also a reason why you are stressed. Sleep deprivation had a negative effect on students’ grades, study shows.

Social jetlag

huge social jetlag – that there are major differences between sleep pattern during weekdays and weekends – was associated with lower grades at the end of the school year.

Ingunn Skre says that the Norwegian studies show that more and more youngsters are struggling with anxiety and depression.

– young people experiencing numerous and irreconcilable demands at once. They can come in a locked position, in which they both will be good in school and cool, they should both be virtuous and sexually experienced. It is difficult to cope with, she says.

The Swedish researcher taking any prejudice by their results. That all students come from elite schools in the capital may be a possible source of error, she writes. It may be that young people there are experiencing stress in a different way than students from other schools or with another economic or social background.