Teenagers may not have the same tasks and responsibilities as adults. Most of them don't pay the bills and often depend on their parents for their home, food and allowance, but this doesn't mean that teens are stress-free.
A new survey has revealed that the stress levels of teens can rival those of adults. Results of the Stress in America survey by the American Psychological Association (APA) even suggests that teens are more overwhelmed by stress than adults.
The annual survey was conducted online by the Harris Interactive on behalf of APA and involved 1,018 teenagers and 1,950 adults in the U.S. in August 2013. APA has already conducted similar surveys in the past but this particular survey focused on stress among teenagers. It revealed that teenagers are the country's most stressed generation. On a 10-point scale, teens rated their stress levels at 5.8, higher than those of the adults' average at 5.1.
The results of the survey also showed that teens have difficulty managing stress. Almost half or 42 percent of the teen respondents said that they either do not exert enough effort to manage their stress or are unsure if they are doing enough to manage their stress.
Thirty one percent of the respondents also feel that their stress has increased in the past year while only 16 percent said their stress level has declined. A large percentage of the teens also reported about feeling overwhelmed, depressed and fatigued because of stress.
APA CEO and executive vice president Norman Anderson said that stress affect the teens' health as well. "Those who experience high levels of stress tend to report that they exercise less and they don't sleep as well, which feeds back into increasing their stress," he said. "Conversely, those who say they exercise on a regular basis and get a good night's sleep show a decrease in stress."
Anderson also said it is alarming that the teens do not seem to realize the effect of stress on their health. The survey showed that 54 percent of the teens think their stress level has no effect on their physical health compared to only 39 percent of the adults. Fifty-two percent of the teens also report that stress does not affect their mental health compared to 43 percent of the adults.
"It is alarming that the teen stress experience is so similar to that of adults. It is even more concerning that they seem to underestimate the potential impact that stress has on their physical and mental health," Anderson said. "In order to break this cycle of stress and unhealthy behaviors as a nation, we need to provide teens with better support and health education at school and home, at the community level and in their interactions with health care professionals."
