The Project AWARE Ohio team has developed an information brief entitled Stress in Teens: Strategies to Identify and Manage Stress.
The brief includes information about stress in adolescence, common symptoms of stress affecting teens, building positive stress management habits, reducing stress through mindfulness, the role of empathy and compassion, and additional online resources to assist with identifying and managing stress in teens.
The report details that the American Psychological Association’s Stress in America survey revealed that teens are experiencing levels of stress similar to adults.
On a rating scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the most stressed, teens gave an average rating of 5.8, and adults reported an average stress level of 5.1.
According to the report, many Americans have ineffective strategies for coping with stress, and experts believe these habits often start during adolescence.
Statistics suggest teens are especially stressed during the school year where 83 percent of teens reporting school as a significant source of stress.
Results from the survey indicated teens reported double the amount of stress during the school year compared to when they were not in school. 27 percent of teens reported high levels of stress during the school year compared to 13 percent during the summer.
Other reported stressors include managing time to balance activities, 59 percent.
Additionally, the report findings suggested teen girls reported feeling more symptoms of stress and more social pressures compared to teen boys.
For example, researchers say teen girls feel pressured to act a certain way, feel stress related to their appearance and feel stress over how others perceive them, especially on social media.
Conversely, teens who reported higher levels of physical activity (for example, exercising, walking or playing sports) reported lower levels of stress and better health overall.
The report also suggested that teens who get more sleep (at least eight hours per night) report being less stressed.
Researchers noted adults often are demonstrating poor coping strategies, and teens tend to adopt these. They encourage the idea that teens need positive adult role models to model positive strategies for managing stress.
The full report along with a variety of tips and suggestions to identify and manage stress in teens can be found below.
Teen-Stress-Reduction-Info-Brief-FINAL
Michaela Madison Reporting
(Photo-Project AWARE)
