Educational stress among Chinese adolescents: individual, family, school and peer influences

Sun, Jiandong; Dunne, Michael P.; Hou, Xiang-Yu; Xu, Aiqiang

doi:10.1080/00131911.2012.659657

Cited by 91 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Existing studies around the world have identified a significant relationship between academic stress and mental health condition among students (Jayanthi, Thirunavukarasu, & Rajkumar, 2015;Sun, Dunne, Hou, & Xu, 2013), indicating that student's perception of academic stress, time spent on school work, and poor academic performance were associated with their mental health condition (Bjorkman, 2007;Liu & Lu, 2012;Sun et al, 2013). However, studies focusing on adolescents' residency type are lacking, and the present study aims to fill this gap.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…There are a range of risk factors for mental health problems in Asian/Chinese youth, including individual, family, and social factors (Sun et al, 2013). Limited number of studies have focused on the effects of demographic factors on these problems in China.…”

Section: Mental Illness Among Adolescentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Liu and Lu (2011) found that academic stress was negatively related to senior secondary school students' academic achievement. Similarly, a cross-sectional study conducted among 1,690 students from grades 7 to 12 (55.4% male) in Shandong Province, China found that poor academic performance was significantly associated with high levels of academic stress measured with the educational stress scale for adolescents (ESSA) (Sun et al, 2013). This is consistent with Li et al's (2007) study, which showed that adolescents with poorer academic performance (grades in exams) and lower ranking in their class presented with higher levels of academic stress.…”

Section: Academic Achievementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Chinese study has investigated this relationship between academic stress and mental health among adolescents in mainland China, however, it focused more on depression and suicidal behaviours in adolescents from Shandong Province, China (Sun et al, 2013). Therefore, there is a gap in academic literature with regards to studies examining academic stress and mental health illnesses among adolescents in other regions of mainland China.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many studies have investigated the relationship between academic stress and mental health among primary and secondary school students in mainland China (Ding & Wang, 2003;Li, 2013;Liu & Lu, 2012;Sun et al, 2013;Xiao et al, 2014;Zheng, Wan & Li, 2001). However, they did not fully investigate the adolescence age.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Academic Stress and Mental Health among Adolescents in Shenzhen, China

Fan¹

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Academic stress, depression, and anxiety are major issues among adolescents attending schools in China and other Asian countries. Many studies have argued that academic stress is associated with depression and anxiety symptoms. However, limited studies have investigated these variables across the full adolescent age group (10 to 19 years). In addition, given the fact that non-Shenzhen residents constitute a large proportion of the Shenzhen population, it would be worthwhile to investigate the potential moderating effects of residency type over academic stress, depression and anxiety amongst this population.The present study aimed to identify the relationship between academic stress and depression and anxiety symptoms among adolescents in Shenzhen, China. Another objective was to investigate the significant demographic factors that could affect academic stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms. Thirdly, the study aimed to the moderating effects of gender and residency type on adolescents' academic stress, depression and anxiety.In terms of the linear regression analyses, academic stress, depression, and anxiety were the dependent variables. Regarding academic stress, studying in higher grade levels, having poorer academic achievement, and less amount of pocket money were found to be the risk factors for academic stress. For depression symptoms, being female, fewer years living in Shenzhen, poor academic performance, high levels of academic stress, higher grade levels, not living in own accommodation and coming from disrupted families were found to be the risk factors. In regards to anxiety symptoms, being female, high levels of academic stress and being in higher grade levels were the risk factors.Academic stress was consistently the strongest risk factor for depressive and anxious symptoms in adolescents from Shenzhen China. This finding emphasises the importance of the Academic stress and mental health among adolescents in Shenzhen, China v need to develop effective interventions to reduce academic stress in Chinese adolescents.Gender and grade level were significant factors for all the three variables -academic stress, depression, and anxiety symptoms. These findings could be used to guide professionals, such as teachers and psychologists, to implement specific plans for adolescents. In addition, future studies are recommended to continue to investigate the impact of demographic moderators upon the mental health issues of Chinese adolescents.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Section: Mental Illness Among Adolescentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Academic Achievementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Academic Stress and Mental Health among Adolescents in Shenzhen, China

Fan¹

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School garden and instructional interventions foster children's interest in nature

Kong,

Chen

2024

People and Nature

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Children's interest in nature is crucial for their understanding and appreciation of the natural environment, as well as for their mental health and biodiversity conservation efforts. To foster this interest, it is important to establish a theoretical framework and explore practical applications. Given the current trend of children spending more time with screens and less time in nature, school gardens offer potential solutions. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of a 4‐month teaching programme conducted in a school garden to promote children's individual interest in nature. 24 Grade‐4 students participated in weekly 40‐min activities, which were divided into three treatments: natural observation with assigned tasks, natural observation with open‐ended tasks and inquiry‐based activities. Participants maintained individual portfolios consisting of questionnaires, nature journals, observation descriptions and interviews. Qualitative and quantitative data were analysed to categorize children into three types: those with initiated interest, those with enhanced interest and those with no significant change. Thematic analysis was used to identify factors influencing children's interest in nature based on qualitative data. The results showed that 17 out of 24 children were classified as either ‘interest‐initiated’ or ‘interest‐enhanced’, indicating a generally positive outcome. The school garden provided a novel and safe environment that empowered children to learn and explore autonomously. Teacher scaffolding further supported their curiosity towards the garden's organisms, potentially leading to the development of their individual interests in nature. This study emphasizes the positive impact of involving children in garden‐based activities in primary schools. Implementing a diverse school garden with informative labels and explanation boards, along with teacher support, represents a promising approach to cultivating children's interest in nature. We recommend implementing mini botanical gardens and club activities in schools to bridge formal and informal education. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

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Academic hardiness as a mediator for the relationship between school belonging and academic stress

Abdollahi

Panahipour

Tafti

et al. 2020

Psychology in the Schools

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Academic stress is a commonly reported affective state by high school students that can be accompanied by unwanted and unhelpful short‐ and long‐term implications including a low sense of school belonging. Understanding how academic stress may be alleviated or managed by students is an essential consideration for all schools concerned with student well‐being. This study aimed to examine the relationship between academic stress and sense of school belonging, as well as the mediation effect of academic hardiness. Four hundred and five high school students from six schools in Tehran (Iran) were recruited in the study. Data analyses with Structural Equation Modeling revealed that a sense of belonging to school (β = −.38, p < .01) and academic hardiness (β = −.40, p < .01) were significant predictors of academic stress. Bootstrapping analysis showed that academic hardiness acted as a mediator between a sense of belonging to school and academic stress. The findings elucidate the underlying mechanism in how low school belonging may lead to academic stress in high school students. Creating a culture of school belonging and teaching and supporting skills related to academic hardiness should be key considerations for all schools seeking to reduce academic stress experienced by their students.

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Educational stress among Chinese adolescents: individual, family, school and peer influences

Cited by 91 publications

References 25 publications

Academic Stress and Mental Health among Adolescents in Shenzhen, China

Academic Stress and Mental Health among Adolescents in Shenzhen, China

School garden and instructional interventions foster children's interest in nature

Academic hardiness as a mediator for the relationship between school belonging and academic stress

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