MCT's College of Education

and Research, Airoli

ASSIGNMENT-2
Strategies for handling Academic Stress in
Adolescence

MISS LALITA DATTARAM TANKAR

Class S.Y.B.ED
BATCH
(2021-22)
INCHARGE PROFESSOR
Incharge. Mrs.Rachana patil
Introduction
Stress has become an unavoidable part of everyday life; anything that poses a challenge or a threat
to our well-being is considered stressful. The world we live in is becoming more competitive, with
everyone striving for greater success in their lives . Academic stress is defined as a student feeling
more pressure on his mind as a result of his inability to meet academic performance demands. Most
parents and teachers have higher expectations of their children, but this expectation increases
pressure on students, making them feel more stressed. These stresses disrupt a student's daily
activities and increase the likelihood of stress, anxiety, and depression-related disorders
.

Students must deal with a variety of academic demands and expectations, such as school exams,
answering questions in class, and demonstrating progress in school subjects. What the teacher
desires is to teach, compete with other classmates, friends, and peer groups, and meet academic
expectations set by teachers and parents. Demand can sometimes outstrip students' ability to deal
with stress effectively. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15–19-year-olds worldwide,
according to the World Health Organization (2019). Depression is one of the leading causes of illness
and disability in adolescents, with estimates ranging from 10–20 percent suffering from mental
health issues. Self-harm was estimated to have killed 62 000 adolescents in 2016. Nearly 90% of the
world's adolescents live in low- or middle-income countries, but more than 90% of adolescent
suicides occur in those countries. Adolescent mental health conditions account for 16% of the global
burden of disease and injury in people aged 10–19 years. Half of all mental health problems begin
before the age of 14, but the majority of cases go unnoticed and untreated (WHO, 2019).
Academic pressure is more prevalent in both developing and developed countries. During their
studies, most students experience stress related to their examinations, tests, academic performance,
and assignments. These stresses have a positive effect on their performance most of the time, but
they can also have a negative impact on their health, leading to mental and psychological problems
such as anxiety, phobias, and depression.

concept
Academic stress is defined as the body's response to academic-related demands that exceed
adaptive capabilities of students. It is estimated that 10–30% of students experience some degree of
academic stress during their academic career.
Some of the common stressors reported in an academic setting include excessive assignments, poor
time management and social skills, peer competition, etc.
Causes of Academic Stress among
Adolescents
1. Upcoming tests/exams When there is more than one upcoming test, many students are
concerned about getting a good grade or simply finding time to study. Test anxiety isn't
limited to struggling students; high achievers often worry about performing well on
exams.
2. Too much homework When the student is overwhelmed or frustrated by homework, it
makes it harder for him or her to complete assignments. This can cause a stressful cycle
where homework piles up and the student doesn‘t have the time or energy to complete
 it all—leading to even more stress.

3. Lack of organization Students with poor organizational skills tend to experience more
stress in school. This is usually because they aren‘t properly prepared with the tools, or
the understanding needed to learn. If those organization skills don‘t improve they may
continue to fall behind, leading to more stress and frustration about school.
4. Poor time management Students with busy schedules can quickly become
overwhelmed because they are left with no free time to relax. As the student progresses
from elementary school to high school, the amount and difficulty level of schoolwork
increases—and students without good time management skills can experience even
more stress.
5. Poor sleep schedule Not getting enough sleep makes it difficult for students to
concentrate and learn effectively. This can lead to feelings of stress for the student when
he or she isn‘t able to perform well in class or on assignments. In fact, studies have
shown that students who don‘t get the required 8-10 hours of sleep each night are more
likely to feel stressed than students who do.
6. Participating in class For many students, the thought of getting called on in class and
speaking in front of their classmates can be terrifying. This can be particularly true if the
student struggles to keep up in a subject or area (common examples are math and
reading).
7. Lack of support A lack of support from parents or teachers, even if it‘s only perceived,
can add a lot of stress to students. They may feel that a lot is expected of them, but that
 they don‘t have a strong enough support system (whether emotional or practical) to
achieve their goals. This is another cause of stress can affect high-achieving students in
particular.
8. Transitioning to a new environment Making a major move can be a stressful time for
many students, whether it‘s starting at a new school or making the transition from
elementary school to high school. New classes, new teachers, and new routines can all
be stressful for students, and take time to adjust to.
9. Changes to routine A routine including dedicated homework time and a consistent sleep
schedule helps guide students through their day. When changes to the usual routine
start to happen, the student may find it more difficult to manage his or her time, leading
to more stress

Parent factor responsible

About two-thirds (66.0%) of the students reported that their parents pressurize them for better
academic performance .Students whose parents were non-graduates .whose mothers were self-
employed .who had an average level of academic performance were more likely to experience
parental pressure than their counterparts.
How parents can help
Parents and other caregivers have an important part to play, by adopting their own healthy habits
and helping children and teens find stress-managing strategies. Some ways parents can take action: 
Model healthy coping. Caregivers can talk with children about how they’ve thought about and dealt
with their own stressful situations.
2 Let kids be problem-solvers. It’s natural to want to fix your child’s problems. But when parents
swoop in to solve every little glitch, their children don’t have a chance to learn healthy coping skills.
Let your children try to solve their low-stakes problems on their own, and they’ll gain confidence
that they can deal with stressors and setbacks.
3 Promote media literacy. Today’s kids spend a lot of time online, where they can run into
questionable content, cyberbullying or the peer pressures of social media. Parents can help by
teaching their children to be savvy digital consumers, and by limiting screen time
4 Combat negative thinking. “I’m terrible at math.” “I hate my hair.” “I’ll never make the team. Why
try out?” Children and teens can easily fall into the trap of negative thinking. When children use
negative self-talk, though, don’t just disagree. Ask them to really think about whether what they say
is true, or remind them of times they worked hard and improved. Learning to frame things positively
will help them develop resilience to stress.

Faculty or institutions
Academic stress refers to all kinds of things that trigger tension, otherwise known as stressors, that
can be interpersonal, intrapersonal, social, health related, environmentally related that impede
academic growth in educational institutions. Stress in a mild measure is said to spark the fire of
motivation and hard work in individuals. However, excessive academic stress that is beyond the
coping resources of students and faculty staff stifles their academic and professional progression and
can be detrimental to their health. If not well managed, unbridled academic stress can trigger
physiological, mental, emotional and physical consequences. This paper comprehensively presents a
review of current studies on academic stress. It thoroughly explains the concept of stress, the
common academic stressors, their negative implications and stress coping or management
mechanisms. Using the research methods, desk survey and document analysis, a systematic search
was carried out. The study contends that academic stress when well-managed, can help in
promoting academic work, elicit good academic outcomes from students and ensure high
professional output from faculty staff in higher institutions.
Student Perception
Academic pressure has increased over the past few years, there are examinations, assignments, and
many other activities that a student has to shuffle through. Not only the design but teachers and
parents also burden the students with a lot of pressure of getting good grades. These expectations
make the students work relentlessly and end up creating more stress. With academics, the parents
and the institutions want the students to participate in extracurricular activities too, the current
expectation from the students is to be an all-rounder. Lack of proper channels for counselling leads
to more confusion and the students are unable to choose a career for themselves even after
rigorous studying patterns. This demanding attitude from parents and teachers leaves the students
bewildered and builds up stress. Teenage and high school plays fundamental role in shaping a child’s
personality and outlook towards life. Peer pressure is yet another common term that one hears from
the teenagers. This could be pressurizing another to drink, smoke, cheat on test, lying etc., the
list is exhaustive. Peer pressure can be harmful and compelling. It can help shape the personalities in
a positive way for introvert students or can pose as an obstacle and lead to stress. It is extremely
important for the students to have wisdom and surround themselves with positive people to make
most of the peer pressures to be positive. Heavy academic workloads and the feeling that you are
constantly racing to meet another deadline can be daunting. Parental pressure on children to shine
in their study and perform well in extracurricular activities is at remarkable high. Compelling need to
excel in studies, often prone to abuse, does injure the morale and is one of the greatest causes of
stress, failure and breakdown. The race amongst parents to prove that their child is an all rounder
makes them end up as victim rather than successful. Lack of support is major reason for stress
amongst students, lack of interaction with parents and teachers keep on building on doubts and
confusions that a child might have eventually led to stress. There is a lot that a child is expected to
achieve, but due to lack of proper support, they feel lost at sea and are left directionless.
Prolonged stress can lead to physical and emotional disorders, further resulting in anxiety and
depression. It is important to have a channel to relieve the anxiety. Mckean et al. (2000) believed
that the stressors are not the sole reason for anxiety, tension or depression, rather synergy between
stressors and the person’s approach and attitude to these stressors create stress. Though stress is
often considered bad, but there is always the other side of the coin. The right kind of stress helps in
sharpening the mind and reflexes, thus helping in boosting memory. Mild stress is always essential
for effective and efficient working. It can help one to meet daily challenges and can motivate
students to reach their goals.

Effects of academic
Mood disruptions There is a connection between adolescence and emotion in the positive and
negative way, Richard also described adolescence as ''the age of fast changes of moods''. There is a
high chance of fluctuation in moods in adolescence due to the various mixes of emotion they pass
through in the present stage and this can either be positive and negative, but the negative ones are
usually accompanied with mood swing
Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15–19-year-olds worldwide, according to the
World Health Organization (2019). Depression is one of the leading causes of illness and disability in
adolescents, with estimates ranging from 10–20 percent suffering from mental health issues. Self-
harm was estimated to have killed 62 000 adolescents in 2016. Nearly 90% of the world's
adolescents live in low- or middle-income countries, but more than 90% of adolescent suicides occur
in those countries. Adolescent mental health conditions account for 16% of the global burden of
disease and injury in people aged 10–19 years. Half of all mental health problems begin before.

Recognize the signs of stress

Signs of stress in youth can show up in a number of ways: 
1 Irritability and anger: Children don’t always have the words to describe how
they are feeling and sometimes tension bubbles over into a bad mood.
Stressed-out kids and teens might be more short-tempered or argumentative
than normal.
2 Changes in behaviour: A young child who used to be a great listener is
suddenly acting out. A once-active teen now doesn’t want to leave the house.
Sudden changes can be a sign that stress levels are high.

3 Trouble sleeping: A child or teen might complain of feeling tired all the time,
sleep more than usual or have trouble falling asleep at night.
4 Neglecting responsibilities: If an adolescent suddenly drops the ball on
homework, forgets obligations or starts procrastinating more than usual,
stress might be a factor.
5 Eating changes: Eating too much or too little can both be reactions to stress.
6 Getting sick more often: Stress often shows up as physical symptoms. Children
who feel stress often report headaches or stomch acches, and might make
frequent trips to the school nurse’s office.

Strategies of Stress Management:

A number of approaches are currently being used to treat and control stress responses. Major
methods include Stress Management, Relaxation techniques, Biofeedback, Drugs and Yoga that all
can have therapeutic psychological effects. Stress management is a large family of techniques
ranging from methods to reduce the occurrence of stress to techniques which can be used by people
who feel overwhelmed by stress. Stress management refers to a wide spectrum of techniques and
psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person's level of stress for the purpose of everyday living.
Yoga, humour and reading are simple effective methods to help reduce academic stress among
children.

Parents and teachers can help children to express anger positively. Children have. a right to feel
angry or upset. Allow them the opportunity to express their feelings. Teach positive ways to release
anger. They can punch a pillow (teaches children to punch soft things that does not hurt themselves
or others), count to 10, talk to someone about angry feelings, go for a walk, or take time out to rest
and relax. Positive anger releases give the child time to accept his/her anger and not hurt
themselves and others.

Stress management for kids and teens

Facing stressors is a fact of life, for children and adults. These strategies can help keep stress in
check: 
 Sleep well. Sleep is essential for physical and emotional well-being. Experts recommend nine
to 12 hours of sleep a night for 6- to 12-year olds. Teens need eight to 10 hours a night.
Sleep needs to be a priority to keep stress in check. To protect shut-eye, limit screen use at
night and avoid keeping digital devices in the bedroom.
 Exercise. Physical activity is an essential stress reliever for people of all ages. The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services recommends at least 60 minutes a day of activity
for children ages 6 to 17.
  Talk it out. Talking about stressful situations with a trusted adult can help kids and teens put
things in perspective and find solutions.

Conclusion :

Stress is part of every one's life. Academic Stress among students can create havoc in their life.
Under Academic stress the performance gets hindered and students can take wrong decisions under
the influence of stress. Social support is considered as one of the most important way of coping with
academic stress. In order to overcome deviant behaviours the parents play a constructive role in
channelizing energies of the students. Proper care should to be taken in helping to take the right
decisions which may affect their future. Hence, Students need to receive appropriate direction,
nurturing, encouragement and guidance from significant adults for their successful transition into
adult life. (Linden, 2005). Students must learn and practice coping skills to get them through an
immediate conflict or problem. Coping strategies must emphasize self responsibility to find positive,
non destructive ways to find relief. Communication skills involve being able to talk and selecting a
good listener. It is important express feelings, vent emotions and talk about the problems and issues.
It is suggested that schools develop counselling centers and implement upgraded services such as
social support groups for students by the counselling experts periodically. This will allow students to
feel at ease and free to express their emotions. It is also vital to educate students on the negative
consequences of stress. Teachers can also help students choose the best stressreduction strategies
by mentoring and guiding them. Interactive academic sessions on stress management can further
encourage medical students to identify each and every problematic issue. This would achieve the
goal of reducing academic stress, adopting healthy academic stress coping behaviours, improving
academic performance, and minimizing anxiety among those considering future professional careers