Easing student stress

A survey revealing the amount of stress put on teens was handed out to high school students. I believe the results that I got back will surprise you. The survey had a series of questions that were based on signs of stress and depression. The students answered how they felt on a scale from 1 to 5. One question that shocked me was, “Do you consider yourself to have stress or depression?” Out of 36 students, 50 percent said definitely, 12.5 percent said often, 34.4 percent said sometimes, 3.1 percent said rarely, and 0 percent said they never have stress or depression. This means that 100 percent of students have had stress or depression and 62.5 percent have stress or depression quite regularly. Another question was, “On a scale from 1 to 10, how stressed are you?” 16.7 percent circled 10, and 0 percent circled 1. The average answer is a 7 stress level; 55.6 percent of students circled from 8 to 10.

Schools across the country could work to reduce the stress put on teens by reducing the amount of homework, extending time between classes, applying the recommended start time of 8:30 a.m. and providing extra support to students.

Indiana Heyer

Spokane