There are many issues that today’s teenager has to deal with, and this causes stress. The most frequently cited reason for this stress is school related and often out of the teenager’s control. Teachers assign them “absurd quantities of mostly pointless homework that force students to work a second shift after having spent all day in school” (Kohn “Reconsider Attitudes”). A study done by Mediamark Research Inc. found that 60.2% of teens surveyed are stressed all the time or sometimes, and that 72.4% of the teens surveyed are stressed because they had a lot of school work ("Teens Want to Enjoy" 2-3). American teenagers are not the only ones with school related stress. In a survey done in Hong Kong, students were asked about what stressed them out, and school and standardized testing were the top two answers, with 25 of 40 and 27 of 40 students agreeing that those things stressed them out (“Are Teenagers Too Stressed?” 8). However, fretting about standardized testing isn’t just limited to teenagers in Hong Kong. It stresses American students out so much that it is not uncommon for a student to vomit during testing (Kalish). While these experts and studies have suggested that schoolwork and standardized tests are the specific problems that teens face, some teens might not agree, and it is necessary to find out; for this reason, my survey asks what is stressing teens out. While vomiting during a test is certainly a side effect of stress, there are many others as well. Teens experience both long term and short term problems from their stress. Some of the short term side effects are complaints of stomachache, headache, muscle pain, tiredness, withdrawal from people and activities, increased anger, and difficulty concentrating, according to Clea McNeely and Jane Blanchard in their book The Teen Years Explained: A Guide to Healthy Adolescent Development. They go on to explain that some of the long term effects of stress are feelings of hopelessness, and changes in sleeping and eating habits (54). There can also be higher chances of developing psychiatric disorders, substance abuse, obesity, high cholesterol, and changes in brain development if exposed to significant stress (McCommons 9). As with the causes of stress, the effects are not limited to American teenagers; in the same survey of students in Hong Kong, they were asked what symptoms they experienced when they were stressed, and the top three answers were having a bad temper, being absentminded, and having headaches (“Are Teens Too Stressed?” 9). With all of these negative side effects, one must ask: who is putting all of the stress on these teens?
Stress comes from many people, from the teen to school, but the experts still debate about who puts more stress on teens. Alfie Kohn, an author on education and parenting, suggests in his article “When a Parent’s ‘I Love You’ Means ‘Do as I Say’" that parents put a large amount of stress on teenagers because they use a method called conditional parent, or praising a teen when he or she does well and withholding love when the teen does badly or behaves inappropriately in any way. While some are quick to place all of the blame of the parents, Clara Hemphill claims that parents do put some stress on their teens, but more of the stress comes from schools and teachers who lead teenagers to believe that they will only get in to college with stellar ACT scores and perfect grades ("What Happened to Childhood?"). This causes teens to focus only on the grades they receive on tests and homework and not the content covered. In another of Kohn’s articles, “But I Need to Assign Homework! Look at All I Have to Cover!”, he discusses how many teenagers and parents feel that is the teachers who cause stress because they are the ones giving out so much homework. While the experts have plenty of ideas as to who is stressing teens out, the voice of the teenager is overlooked and goes unreported. For this reason, my survey asked teens who stresses them out, and this ignored voice will come to the forefront of the conversation. Because the teenager’s voice is often lost in these matters, most parents have no idea how stressed their teen is and what effect it is having on them, and hearing from them will shed some light on the matter.
Most parents are aware that their teenager is at least somewhat stressed, but are blissfully unaware of the magnitude of the stress and its consequences. In a recent study done by the American Psychological Association, it was discovered that 45% of teens surveyed feel more stressed than they did the previous year, while only 28% of their parents think that their teen’s stress has increased. This study also discovered that only 2% of parents think their teen is stressed a lot, while 28% of teens said they were stressed a lot. The effects of stress also appear to be unknown to parents. The study shows that 42% of teens get headaches while 13% of parents say that their teen gets headaches; 49% of teens have trouble sleeping while 13% of parents say their teen has trouble sleeping; and 39% of teens report eating too much or too little, while only 8% of parents say that their teen ate too much or too little ("Children Are More Stressed" 1). Since this stress continues to fly unnoticed under parental radar, experts have suggested how teens might reduce stress by themselves.
There are multiple methods of calming down and reducing stress and it varies as to which methods will be successful. Some methods that teens can use to calm down include taking a hot bath, journaling, crying, meditating, and praying (McCommons 18). Other methods include “taking deep breaths, performing progressive muscle relaxation, talking with friends, and scheduling breaks for enjoyable activities” (McNeely and Blanchard 54). While the methods for relaxing during and after stress are relatively short, the methods for reducing stress are often long term projects. To reduce stress levels in general, teens can do things like problem solving and learning to manage their emotions (Mounts 2), or “exercising, eating regular meals, breaking caffeine addictions, focusing on what they can control, letting go of what they cannot control, and accepting themselves as they are” (McNeely and Blanchard 54). While there are many things that teens can do, it also helps if parents and schools are involved.
Parents and schools can also play a large role in reducing teen stress. Parents can “limit after-school activities, cap the number of Advanced Placement classes a child may take and remind kids that character counts as much as grades do” (Hemphill), as well as encouraging their teens to talk about their problems, listening without jumping to conclusions, and not giving advice unless their teen asks for it (Mounts 3). Schools can also help by “reinstating all those physical education classes that have been cut to make room for more academics” (Kalish), “acknowledging that there are many fine colleges and universities that don’t require perfect ACT or SAT scores and straight As” (Hemphill), and providing students with teachers who “listen to them, want to get to know them and are willing to help with homework” (Pope). These measures would help to reduce teenage stress drastically.