Ladies, it might stress you out to hear this, but your stress levels and those of your teen daughters are going to stay the same or keep getting worse if you don’t make changes in your lives soon.
The American Psychological Association released its annual Stress in America survey, and this year it had a major focus on the stress adolescents (ages 13-17) are experiencing, and how that stress is negatively affecting their lives.
The survey compared the stress of adults to that of teens, and shockingly, enough teens actually experience higher levels of stress during the school year than adults.
During the school year, teens have a stress level of 5.8 on a 10-point scale (10 being the highest level of stress), compared to 4.6 during the summer. The average stress level of teens in the last month compared to adults is 5.8 (teens) versus 5.1 (adults). Teens believe that a healthy level of stress is 3.9, according to the survey.
Ramani Durvasula, a clinical psychologist, said in an email that she believes teens may be experiencing higher stress levels than adults because they are still making their path through life, and they have many expectations from adults that they’re trying to fulfill. They might have nearly as many responsibilities as adults, just of a different kind.
“In addition teens have less control - don't get to call all the shots, don't have financial autonomy, don't run the household - and that lack of control can contribute to higher levels of stress,” Durvasula said. “Low control with high demand is what leads to stress-related health problems.”
Teens also look to their parents as role models, but judging from the survey results, parents are not showing the best ways to manage stress.
The survey results show that gender starts playing a role in stress levels as early as the teen years. When comparing stress levels by gender, teen girls are bearing the burden. Their average stress level in the past month is 5.1, compared to their male counterparts at 4.1.
Stress also tended to impact teen girls’ mental health more than teen boys. In fact, in the past month 37 percent of girls said they felt sad or depressed due to stress, whereas only 23 percent of teen boys said the same, according to the survey.
The stress doesn’t appear to be going away either. Thirty-six percent of girls say their stress has increased over the past year, and only 34 percent of female adolescents are doing an excellent or very good job at managing stress.
Stress is also leading to more negative symptoms and unhealthy behaviors for teen girls than it is for teen boys. For example, 45 percent of female adolescents said they became angry or irritable because of stress over the past month, and the same percentage also felt like crying over stress. Forty-two percent of female adolescents are also fatigued due to stress.
And even though in the past five years a majority of women have tried reducing their stress (66 percent), only 32 of women can say they have actually succeeded.
Durvasula said she believes teen girls are being asked to carry a “nearly impossible load,” which could be contributing to the out-of-control stress levels. She said teen girls are expected to do well in sports and school, as well as look like a “cover girl.”
Although the report has some gloomy findings, there are some changes we can make.
Durvasula said some options for reducing stress for teens would include later start times for schools, healthier food options at school, stress management curriculum, mindfulness and meditation at school.
For women, she suggests being realistic with expectations and making healthy changes to alleviate stress. For example, we can all aim to get to bed at least 15 minutes earlier, eat more fruits and vegetables, eliminate more technology/Internet surfing and replace it with more people time or stress-relieving activities and hobbies.
Sources:
American Psychological Association. Stress in America: Are Teens Adopting Adults’ Stress Habits? Stress in America Press Room. Web. February 19, 2014.
http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/index.aspx (Pages 5, 8, 12, 13, 40, 41 of the full report)
Durvasula, Ramani. Email interview. February 17, 2014.
http://www.doctor-ramani.com
Reviewed February 21, 2014
by Michele Blacksberg RN
Edited by Jody Smith