Students’ Stress and Anxiety

Students’ Stress and Anxiety

Executive summary

The objective of this paper is to explore one area that can be changed to reduce the level of anxiety and stress in students. Parent pressure is the most significant cause of stress and anxiety for many students, and it overshadows all the other causes.  Many parents find it rather difficult to accept less than stellar performance from their kids, and this causes a build-up of stress and anxiety as students try to please their parents. A dialogue needs to be opened between the parents and students from the beginning. The students should feel comfortable to tell both the teachers and the parents what they need, and they should feel comfortable when discussing it.

Introduction

In recent times, the issue of increased anxiety and stress on students has become under increased scrutiny due to the impact it has on the life and performance in school.  Many students report stress and anxiety as the single most elements that inhibit their performance.  It is evident that in the last one decade, stress and anxiety are one of the primary reasons why students seek counseling in most of the colleges and it has been shown to affect more than 25% of the students on the global platform (McLaren, Fidler, & McGeorge, 2018).  Scholars have noted various elements that are central in causing students stress.  For instance, separation from family members an introduction to a new environment makes many students rather stressed before they adapt to the new environment. On the other hand, examination and tests also cause students to become highly stressed especially those who are not adequately prepared to handle the exams.            Also, the mere pressure of students trying to cope with the pressure and demand of the college elevates their level of stress and anxiety, and it sometimes leads to depression and suicide cases. Recent studies indicate that suicide is among the leading cause of death in young people.  On the issue of stress and anxiety in students, one question that arises is what can relay be done to remedy the problems of anxiety and stress in students? The objective of this paper is to explore one area that can be changed to reduce the level of anxiety and stress in students.

Parent pressure is the most significant cause of stress and anxiety for many students, and it overshadows all the other causes.  Though many parents might seem to deflect this notion and blame the students stress on the results-oriented education systems that exist all over the world, unrealistic expectation of parents on the children abilities seems to be the leading cause of many students anxiety and stress (Bedewy & Gabriel, 2015). Despite their level of achievement, many parents find it rather difficult to accept less than stellar performance from their kids, and this causes a build-up of stress and anxiety as students try to please their parents.

The problem of parent interference can be seen from the time students enter school to the time they are graduating. At the selection stage, parent insists that their children, especially those who have performed well, to choose on prestigious causes that will pay more and which will guarantee them a high ranking job.  A student ends up choosing a cause that he or she has no interest and ambition in. It is from this point that pressure and stress start building on the student.  The student will find it difficult to understand concepts for the demanding course that he or she was forced to enroll by the parent. As a result, the student will be forced to take long hours of study and examination period will be a nightmare to him or her. Through this, the student eventually becomes stressed, and school life becomes rather unbearable.

I am not against the notion of parents wanting their children to have a better grade; I am only against the approach many parents use to achieve this front.  Research indicates that parents’ behavior affects their children affective reactions and the success of a child in school largely depends on parents’ conception of academic success.  Therefore, it is the single most elements that can precipitate to another form of aspects that can cause adverse stress to children.

The big question that arises on this notion is what can be done to deal with this problem? One element that is essential and needs that need to be considered is dialogue. A dialogue needs to be opened between the parents and students from the beginning. The students should feel comfortable to tell both the teachers and the parents what they need, and they should feel comfortable when discussing it (Prabhu, 2015). However, this can only be achieved when the parents change their behaviors and perception of the education of their children. Parents don’t realize the adverse effect that too much pressure has on students who sometimes can go undetected. Sometimes students who do not leave to the standards set by their parents can end up feeling that they will eventually go to fail and this sometimes make them be immensely stressed, and massive anxiety build up to the point of giving up.

In other cases, the parents might feel the loop at the time when their children are under stress, and they might end up bombarding them with advice, which further escalates the problem. It is at this point that the teacher and parent need to have a dialogue in the attempt to address the detected problem of stress and anxiety in a child. In such a situation, regular meetings are essential to developing an approach that will be instrumental I dealing with the problems facing the child. Teachers should also make the parents understand that children are individuals on their own and should not be pushed in one direction. Notably, every child develops their way at their own pace.

Conclusion

There has been a constant rise in the level of stress and anxiety in students, an element that is somewhat alarming.  Many elements cause stress, but the most significant one is parent pressure. Therefore, it is the high time that parents change their behavior on the performance and educational trends and involve them in dialogue that will create a better understanding and ease the pressure.

Memorandum

To:

From:

Subject: Parents pressure and students stress and anxiety

Date:

cc:

The purpose of this memo is to identify and express parents pressure as the single most factor need to be changed to reduce the level of stress in students. The issue of increased anxiety and stress on students has become under increased scrutiny due to the impact it has on the life and performance in school.  Many students report stress and anxiety as the single most elements that inhibit their performance.  Parent pressure is the most significant cause of stress and anxiety for many students, and it overshadows all the other causes. Many parents find it rather difficult to accept less than stellar performance from their kids, and this causes a build-up of stress and anxiety as students try to please their parents. To counter this, a dialogue needs to be opened between the parents and students from the beginning. The students should feel comfortable to tell both the teachers and the parents what they need, and they should feel comfortable when discussing it. Teachers should also make the parents understand that children are individuals on their own and should not be pushed in one direction. Notably, every child develops their way at their own pace.

References

Bamber, M. D., & Schneider, J. K. (2016). Mindfulness-based meditation to decrease stress and anxiety in college students: A narrative synthesis of the research. Educational Research Review, 18, 1-32.

Bedewy, D., & Gabriel, A. (2015). Examining perceptions of academic stress and its sources among university students: The Perception of Academic Stress Scale. Health psychology open, 2(2), 2055102915596714.

McLaren, K., Fidler, J., & McGeorge, L. (2018). Prevalence and Predictors of Stress and Anxiety Among College Students.

Prabhu, S. (2015). A study on academic stress among higher secondary students. Int J Humanities Soc Sci Invent, 4(10), 63-8.