Anxiety, Depression and Self-Esteem in Secondary School Children

Abstract

With the introduction of a new curriculum and increased targets for schools, children are facing increased pressure to succeed in examinations at increasingly earlier ages. It is therefore necessary to emphasize the need for greater awareness of the distress that may be experienced by young children and adolescents as a result and implement provision for early interventions. The aim of this study was to investigate changes occurring in anxiety, affect, depression and self-esteem in secondary school children as they approached important school examinations and to examine variations between schools of differing design and status. There were a total of 520 participants, from four different schools in two school years (year 9, age 13-14 and year 11, age 15-16). Participants completed self-report questionnaires at two time points—firstly during regular term time and the second in the week immediately prior to the examinations. Gender differences were found in the majority of measures with females displaying greater levels of anxiety and negative affect immediately before the examinations, whereas males reported higher positive affect and self-esteem and lower depression and anxiety, even within the week prior to the examinations. Differences between the schools were also found. However, there were no significant differences between the two school years and the two times of testing. A number of trends were identified in relation to both gender differences and the influence of the type of school attended. Females, particularly those attending independent or grammar schools, reported a greater negative mood overall and before the examinations. It is suggested that there is a need for a school-based provision aimed at pro-actively increasing pupils self-esteem and to develop skills for dealing with stressful situations—particularly important examinations.

‘When words don't come easily’: personal narratives from adolescents experiencing shyness as an emotional and behavioural problem in the school context

“…I chose girls only, because a relatively small amount of research has been done on this group in connection with behavioural problems in school, while a higher level of interest and focus has been given to extroverted behavioural problems among boys (Loeber & Farrington, ). Research confirms that girls report higher levels of anxiety, depression and distress, while also underestimating their own academic skills, whereas boys show an opposite trend in adolescence (Cole et al, ; Henderson & Zimbardo, ; Locker & Cropley, ; Rutter, ). This is another reason for conducting more research related to girls in the context of school, and acquiring more knowledge about the consequences of their behaviour.…”

Atención selectiva, ansiedad, sintomatología depresiva y rendimiento académico en adolescentes

“…Por otra parte, no se han encontrado diferencias significativas ni en los niveles de ansiedad medios entre hombres y mujeres, ni en la atención selectiva. Estos dos resultados parecen también contradictorios con la bibliografía revisada, donde se ha encontrado que las mujeres mostraban mayores niveles de ansiedad antes de los exámenes y subestimaban más su competencia académica, que los chicos (Cole et al, 1999;Locker y Cropley, 2004). Del mismo modo, exis-ten estudios que demuestran que las mujeres manifiestan mayor costo en las tareas de atención selectiva (Merrit et al, 2007).…”

“…Este resultado concuerda además con otros trabajos donde se ha encontrado una posible influencia de la ansiedad en el rendimiento académico mediada por variables como la depresión y la atención seAtención selectiva, ansiedad, sintomatología depresiva y rendimiento académico en adolescentes. (Bandura et al, 1999;Locker y Cropley, 2004;Rains, 2004;Zeidner y Schleyer, 1998). …”

‘I just sit there’: shyness as an emotional and behavioural problem in school

“…I chose only girls because there has been relatively little research on this group connected to behavioural problems in school, while a higher level of interest and focus has been paid to boys' extroverted behavioural problems (Loeber & Farrington, 2001). Research confirms that girls report higher levels of anxiety, depression and distress while also underestimating their own academic skills, whereas boys show an opposite trend in adolescence (Cole, Martin, Peeke, Seroczynski & Fier, 1999;Henderson & Zimbardo, 2001;Locker & Cropley, 2004;Rutter, 1997). This is also a reason to carry out proportionately more research on girls in the context of school and acquire more knowledge about the consequences of their behaviour.…”