Management of Academic Stress and Anxiety Among School Children

By Radhika Taroor

Humans have been facing many adversities ever since the beginning of their existence, and stress is perhaps the most commonly experienced among them. The term stress refers to the psychological state which derives from a persons appraisal of the success with which he or she can cope to the demands of the environment. In other words, it is the reaction of the mind and body to change. How one responds to stress is determined by how one evaluates the change. The process of cognitive appraisal involves monitoring of four aspects of a persons transaction with his environment and the continual balance between them. The four aspects are the following:

1. Demands made on the person
2. Their personal characteristics and coping resources
3. Constraints under which they have to cope
4. The support they receive from others

Stress can be experienced in a variety of situations, including family situations, work situations, interpersonal situations, academic situations, etc. Out of a number of stresses faced by adolescents and young adults, academic stress emerges as a significant mental problem in recent years.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Apr 25, 2016
• ISBN: 9781482865103

Radhika Taroor

Radhika Taroor has a variety of degrees to her name with regards to Behavioral Sciences including a doctorate. She has been associated with various associations and organizations related to Psychology and Child Development including the American Psychological Association. An avid publisher of journals and papers, internationally, she has been a cornerstone in developing various initiatives for undergraduate and postgraduate course such as the Life Span Development Program, Educational Counseling and Guidance Program and the ongoing development of a new Lifestyle course for the undergraduates. She has been developing new methods towards teaching in order for students to cope with the current day stress. Her interests include personality development, rehabilitation, and assessment of behavioral issues.

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Copyright © 2016 Radhika Taroor. All rights reserved.

ISBN

978-1-4828-6509-7 (sc)

978-1-4828-6510-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016937960

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

04/18/2016

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CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF LITERATURE

CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY

CHAPTER 4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

CHAPTER 5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

REFERENCES

INTERVENTION TECHNIQUES

ABSTRACT

Management of Academic Stress and Anxiety among school children.

This study envisages a quantitative analysis of Stress and Anxiety (State- Trait) levels of the school going children studying in grades VI to XII and the effects of interventional methods over a period of time. The efficacy of the intervention measures once again quantitatively analyzed in order to suggest most effective tools to be used in combating the above problem. The dependent measures used included the State –Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1970), Personal Stress Assessment Inventory (Kindler et al., 1981), Spielberger State Anger Scale (Spielberger, 1972). The experimental design was classical experimental design method using pre-test/ post-test with a control group. The independent variable was constructed as a four weeks programme two hours per a day programme in which fifty adolescents research subject participated. The intervention programme yielded statistically significant differences for the treatment group (P 0.1), lowering Stress, Anxiety, and Anger. Marked improved in Scholastic achievements was noticed (P 0.1) with a critical ratio of 13.75.

Comparing boys and girls for the factors related to Stress, Anxiety, Anger and Scholastic achievements or marks, after intervention it was noticed that girls showed reduced levels of Stress, Anxiety and Anger. Boys were found perform better the academic and extracurricular activities. The finding show that behaviour modification and relaxation techniques have a definite impact as seen in the significant variation of the criteria’s of Stress, Anxiety and Anger and the intervention programme has been effective. Conclusion and possible implications related to future research are discussed.

Keywords:- Quantitative analysis - Adolescence- Strait Trait Anxiety Inventory – Personal Stress Assessment Inventory – Spielberger State Anger Scale – Behaviour modification – Relaxation Technique- Scholastic achievements.

LIST OF FIGURES

A. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEVEL OF STRESS AND AROUSAL IN THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE PERFORMANCE PARAMETERS AS PREDICTED BY YERKES – DODSON LAW, BROADHURST, 1959.

B. DIAGRAMMATIC REPRESENTATION OF STRESS PERCEPTION.

C. DIAGRAMMATIC REPRESENTATION OF STRESS.

D. A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE THREE STAGES OF THE GENERAL ADAPTATION.

E. FROM STIMULUS TO RESPONSE.

LIST OF TABLES

1. FACTORS OF EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP BEFORE INTERVENTION.

2. FACTORS OF EXPERIMENTAL GROUP IN BEFORE AND AFTER CONDITION.

3. FACTORS OF EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP AFTER INTERVENTION.

4. FACTORS OF CONTROL GROUP IN BEFORE AND AFTER CONDITION.

5. FACTORS FOR CONTROL GROUP IN BOYS.

6. FACTORS FOR EXPERIMENTAL GROUP IN GIRLS.

7. FACTORS FOR EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS IN BOYS.

8. FACTORS FOR CONTROL GROUPS IN GIRLS.

LIST OF CHARTS

1. EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP BEFORE INTERVENTION

2. FACTORS FOR CONTROL GROUP IN BEFORE AND AFTER CONDITION

3. FACTORS FOR EXPERIMENTAL GROUP IN BEFORE AND AFTER CONDITION

4. EXPERIMENTAL GROUP AND CONTROL GROUP AFTER INTERVENTION

5. FACTORS FOR EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS IN GIRLS

6. FACTORS FOR CONTROL GROUP IN GIRLS

7. FACTORS FOR CONTROL GROUP IN BOYS

8. FACTORS FOR EXPERIMENTAL GROUP IN BOYS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research has been a wonderful learning experience that I would always cherish. This experience has not only improved my skills in scientific enquiry but also moulded me into a better person. This thesis had reinforced my belief in the goodness of human beings and all the people I had interacted from the beginning till the end of this study. A study of this nature would not have been possible without the inputs, cooperation and support from a large number of people. I take this opportunity to thank them all…

Foremost, the person who was always with me from the initial conceptualisation of this study till date was my guide, Prof. Dr.Ganesan Vedagiri, Ph D., Hon. Director, Global Institute of Behavioural Technology, Coimbatore and Ex-Head And Professor, Department of Psychology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

My guide not only trusted my abilities to carry out a research of such intense nature, but also motivated me in every step of this journey. He was a strong pillar of support for me right from the initial stages of conceptualisation to the termination of this research work. He always gave me enough freedom to experiment and learn from my mistakes. His unconditional trust, warmth and caring attitude made this research experience very pleasant. His abundant support made me bounce back to my work during various hardships. Sir, I thank you for all your support and guidance.

I thank Mrs.Suguna, Principal, Sri RamaKrishna Matriculation Higher Secondary School Vattamalaipalayam, Coimbatore-641022, Tamil Nadu, for allowing me to associate with the institute and carry out this study.

I am grateful to all the Students, Parents and Staff members of Sri Ramakrishna Matriculation Higher Secondary School for their support and Participation.

I take this opportunity to thank all the Staff of Mother Teresa Women’s University, particularly, Dr.Kalaimathi for being extremely approachable and always ready with information.

Thanks a lot to my wonderful colleagues Gopu, Sella, Murthy, Mangaikarasi for their valuable care and support. They were always there for me!!

I profusely thank Mr. P.Venkidusamy (Classic Xerox, Coimbatore-29) who helped me with the formatting of the thesis and made this work presentable.

Thanks to Sunil Menon, for being with me during all the turbulent times of my life and

To my father and family members for their unconditional love and support!!

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Ever since human-kind shifted from their primitive habitat of forest and started settling down in villages and towns, they have been experiencing different kinds of Stress and Anxiety due to fault lines in interpersonal relation, increased responsibilities, daily hassles, workload, high expectations, disappointments etc.

Life in urban conglomerates has accentuated this problem due to congested living condition, traffic jams, different kinds of pollution, the increase of crime rate, occasional break down of essential services, fear of contagious diseases, and increased demand on personal time and cutthroat competition. Thus present day a human being experiences Stress and Anxiety from all the quarters and becomes completely exhausted. Now-a-days this world is a world of rapid change in all spheres of human endeavours. These sudden changes place on us a very high demand for coping up with our capabilities on earth, and children are no exception to these unavoidable changes.

Children who are in the initial state of their life journey find themselves unaware in the cycle of life events happening around them and are subjected to a great amounts of Stress as well as Anxiety. Their helplessness to get away from these problems is often expressed through their Anger on themselves and others. The Stress and Anxiety disorders constitute one of the most common forms of psychopathology among children and adolescents. However, the above-mentioned aspects have been considered as relatively neglected area for research in the last two decades.

With this background, it was decided to study objectively the levels of Stress, Anxiety and Anger in school-going children of age between 12 to 18 years and try out intervention techniques for reducing these maladies with the hope that these measures will improve their academic performance.

Purpose of the Study

Children are the future wealth of any nation. Children’s psychological and physiological health assumes importance as their health status directly affects the future well being of the country. Children form a Vulnerable or special risk group as their psychological well being is not adequately taken care of either by parents or by teachers. The school going years being formative years it is essential that atmost care and attention is provided for their psychological well being.

Today fast paced world adolescents are subjected to heavy Stress and resultant anxieties. This has an adverse affect on their mental well being and health. Neither the parents who are busy with their official duties, household duties nor the teachers who are over burdened with academic responsibilities are able to pay sufficient attention to the above vital factors which are most important in a growing up child. Therefore it is of atmost importance to undertake a study on their mental and physical well being. Stress and Anxiety are the two vital factors which affect their academic performance, physical health and their mental development and suggest remedial measures to effectively combat the ill effects of Stress and Anxiety. As prevention is better than cure, the researcher feels that there is an urgent need for this study.

In this study entitled Management of Academic Stress and Anxiety among School Children, Chapter I details the nature, symptoms, etiology, causes, diagnosis and possible interventions of Stress, Anxiety and Anger.

Chapter II provides a general overview of the various theoretical and empirical studies carried out so far and their findings in the above field.

Chapter III examines the Research Methodology adopted for studying Stress, Anxiety and Anger levels using Classical Experimental design. Random Sampling procedure was selected for this research. Pre-test/ Post- test control design was adopted to evaluate the efficacy of the intervention program which was imparted to students.

Chapter IV discusses the results observed from the data. There was a significant difference between the mean values of experimental and control groups after the intervention which proves the efficacy of the intervention techniques adopted.

In Chapter V the efficacy of the intervention is discussed. The findings in this research outline the potential benefits of intervention for increasing all children’s resilience to the challenges inherent throughout the developmental trajectory and propose directions for future research. The program was found to give positive results for enabling the students to cope up with these maladies. Separate studies of these factors were made on the basis of gender as well as to get a better insight.

Adolescence is a time of rapid change. In adolescence (ages 11– 17), youth experience puberty, develop abstract thinking abilities, and transition into and out of middle school and then high school. Although most youth go through this period without excessive Stress, adolescents are at a greater risk of school dropout, arrest, drug use, and some psychological disorders than other age groups. To be successful in school and in life, adolescents need trusting and caring relationships. They also need opportunities to form their own identities, engage in autonomous self-expression, and take part in challenging experiences that will develop their competence and self-esteem. Adolescents desire autonomy, independence, and time with peers, but at the same time, they continue to rely on guidance from parents and young adults.

Currently, reports on negative adolescents’ behaviours, both in the media and in national survey data, appear to