Teens under stress, parents can make a difference, study says

SASKATOON, Canada (CCN/Prairie Messenger) - Teens are under stress, but parents and family life can make a difference, according to a college researcher here.

Dr. Patti McDougall, associate professor of psychology at St. Thomas More College at the University of Saskatchewan, recently participated in a national research project surveying teens about stress and how they handle it. "The Raise Your Voice National Youth Study" involved an online survey of more than 1,000 young people aged 13 to 18, as well as some 500 parents. "Eighteen percent of that group of young people said they were highly stressed or very highly stressed on a daily basis," said McDougall. Causes of stress in teens include school, money and appearance. "School cuts across the board, among both boys and girls," she said, with money being a more common stressor among boys and appearance a greater source of stress among girls. "We were heartened to discover that parents were in line with young people in identifying their own children's stress and its causes," she said. "They also added low self esteem as a cause, perhaps because of the perspective they have as parents and adults." Queried on how often they ask for help when they need it, 42 percent of the young people said they rarely or never seek help for the stress in their lives - a big concern, noted McDougall. "We have to be doing something better here. Kids that do ask for help said they found the help they needed almost 100 percent of the time." Teens who reach out for help most often turn to mothers and to friends. About 67 percent report that their top confidants are friends, just ahead of their mothers at 60 percent. Only 32 percent of teens turn to their fathers or their siblings. When teens were asked where they had their most meaningful conversations with their parents, the top responses were: at the dinner table, in the car and before bed. "It reminds us that we want to protect those times," McDougall said. Turning up the radio in the car or running the television during mealtimes could well mean losing valuable opportunities for connecting with teens, she said, adding that it is important for parents to work on listening, and letting teens take the lead. Approximately seven percent of teens reported never having meaningful conversations with their parents. The top reasons they cite are embarrassment and awkwardness, fear of judgment and fear of punishment or repercussions. More than 50 percent of teens are comfortable talking with their parents about difficult topics such as bullying, harassment, drugs and alcohol; only 27 percent are comfortable talking to their parents about sex. As a way to reach out to the 42 percent who do not seek help when they need it, the sponsor of the youth stress study, Motorola Canada, provides an Internet resource (www.raiseyourvoice.ca) that includes information on topics such as abuse, homework, bullying and where to find help for problems. When it comes to coping with stress, the study shows that many young people are coping in healthy and positive ways, added McDougall. Sometimes, she said, the coping strategy is the distraction of television or electronic games - "and that can be positive in terms of them coming back refreshed to deal with things again." Others said they cope by talking with friends or exercising. However, 43 percent of teens said they eat more and 10 percent said they turn to alcohol or drugs when experiencing stress. This group is clearly at risk, said McDougall, especially among the 18 percent who are highly stressed and who are also less likely to seek help, and less likely to talk to their parents." In addition to keeping the lines of communication open, parents can make a difference by educating themselves and trying to figure out what kinds of stresses are typical for their child and what might be causing stress. Parents can take an active role in directing teens to sources of help and can ask for help themselves. "Parents can also nurture hope in teens, by helping them to see that, if they seek help, it will make a difference," said McDougall. The national Motorola Raise Your Voice surveys were conducted in both French and English by Youthography, with analysis provided by McDougall and fellow researcher Dr. Tracy Vaillancourt of McMaster University.

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Republished by Catholic Online with permission of the Canadian Catholic News Service.

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