While the saying – ‘School time is the best time in a child’s life,’ would have been true years ago, it no longer reflects the current scenario among school-going adolescents. Today, children in school can be under just as much stress and burden as a fully grown adult. Though factors like academic pressure, social expectations, and family dynamics mattered even earlier, today these factors have developed a new-found intensity, and when topped with the hormonal changes, can adversely affect an adolescent, making their life challenging. Dr Sandra Roshni Monterio, Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology, analyses the situation through her paper titled Psychosocial predictors of adolescent stress: insights from a school-going cohort.
Brief abstract
This study investigates the psychosocial factors influencing stress among 1,104 school-going adolescents in Telangana, India. Utilising the Adolescence Stress Scale and various psychosocial measures, hierarchical multiple regression and serial mediation analyses revealed that emotional instability, ill health experiences, conscientiousness, and psychosocial support significantly predict adolescent stress, explaining 6% of the variance. Serial mediation models highlighted family health and emotional efficacy as key mediators. The findings underscore the complex interplay of psychosocial factors in adolescent stress and suggest targeted interventions focusing on emotional regulation and family health to mitigate stress.
Explanation of the Research in Layperson’s Terms
Adolescence is a time of big changes, and while this is true globally, Indian school-going children may experience these changes differently because of our unique cultural and social expectations. This research looks at why teenagers feel stressed and what factors contribute to it. We studied over 1,100 students from schools in Telangana, India, to understand how things like their personality, family life, and social support affect their stress levels. We found that feeling emotionally unstable, having health problems, being overly responsible, and even the kind of support they get from others can increase stress. In fact, too much social support, especially when it’s uninvited or feels controlling, can make adolescents feel even more overwhelmed. This is particularly relevant in India, where family bonds are strong but can sometimes come with pressure, judgment, or expectations. Additionally, the turn to virtual dependency may be temporarily comforting but may not always translate to meaningful connection leading to greater feelings of isolation.
Together, these factors explain a small but important part of why teens feel stressed. We also discovered that a healthy family environment and the ability to manage emotions can help reduce stress. This means that helping teens cope with their emotions and supporting strong family relationships could make them feel less stressed.
Despite growing awareness about teen mental health, most Indian studies have focused only on academic stress or used Western tools that may not capture the emotional landscape of Indian adolescents. Our study fills this gap by using tools grounded in Indian cultural realities and examining the “how” and “why” behind stress, not just “how much” stress exists.
In short, Indian children face a mix of visible and invisible pressures. To truly support them, we need to look beyond grades, listen without judging, and create spaces, both online and offline, where they feel safe, heard, and understood.
Practical Implementation or Social Implications:
The findings from this study have practical implications for schools, families, and mental health professionals. By identifying emotional instability and ill health as key stress contributors, schools can implement programs teaching emotional regulation skills to help adolescents manage stress. The significant role of family health suggests that family-based interventions, like workshops promoting positive parent-child communication, could reduce teen stress. Additionally, the findings challenge the assumption that more social support is always better, suggesting the quality of support matters more than quantity, especially in cultures undergoing social transition. There is a need for tailored support that respects adolescents’ desire for independence. These insights can inform policies in educational and community settings to foster environments that reduce stress and promote mental well-being among teenagers, particularly in high-pressure cultural contexts like India.
Collaborations:
This study was a collaborative effort between SRM University-AP, GITAM University, Hyderabad Campus, and Centre for Health Psychology, University of Hyderabad
Future Research Plans:
Building on these findings, our future research will focus on practical and achievable steps to deepen our understanding of adolescent stress. We plan to develop culturally grounded interventions to improve family health and adolescent emotional efficacy, tailored to the Indian context. To address the modest explained variance, we will explore a limited set of additional factors, such as academic pressure and peer relationships.