Early Teen Stress Tied To School And Identity, Study Finds

A study of child health and wellbeing has revealed that
starting high school and self-identity are the biggest
causes of stress for young teens, and a University of
Canterbury (UC) | Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha researcher
hopes the results will shape future support
services.

The ‘Our Voices’ study sought responses
directly from approximately 1000 13-year-old participants
about their experiences navigating adolescence in Aotearoa
and has already released a series of findings as part of its
Summer Snapshot series.

Their families
are participating in the Growing Up in New Zealand
longitudinal study that aims to better understand the
diverse and complex journey young people experience growing
up in New Zealand.

The latest report to come from the
Our Voices study, ‘Navigating
Rough Waters: Support Networks for Youth’ led by UC
Senior Lecturer Dr Sotardi, identifies key stressors and how
teens overcome tough times. Dr Sotardi, a leading
educational psychology researcher in New Zealand, helped
identify the most common emotional, social and academic
challenges 13-year-olds face, and what help mechanisms they
use to overcome those challenges.

“What we found was
interactions at school and understanding who you are, and
self-acceptance were the most commonly reported
challenges,” she says.

The significance of the high
school transition was reflected in the teens’ responses.
Workload or getting good grades, making new friends, and
trying to fit in were the most common sources of
stress.

The teens were asked what helped
them get through tough times, with nearly three quarters
emphasising the importance of family and whānau support,
friends, mentors and even social media influencers as key
coping mechanisms.

Many of the teens
regularly used more than one coping strategy, with a quarter
of participants using activities such as gaming to provide a
distraction from the stress they were
experiencing.

“We found that key social
relationships were how the teens coped best, but also
distraction and escapism were legitimate forms of coping as
well – reading, music and gaming all helped regulate emotion
and helped create space for teens to pause and reflect,”
Dr Sotardi says.

By showing adolescence as a critical
developmental stage that is marked with commonly experienced
challenges, educators, community organisations and policy
makers can make more informed decisions about future support
services.

“There is now the potential to develop
programmes that promote positive relationships and reinforce
how safe school environments contribute to stronger
emotional wellbeing for young people across
Aotearoa.”

Our
Voices project

The Our Voices project was
established by Professor Susan Morton at the University of
Auckland in 2019 and is now led by Associate Professor Kane
Meissel alongside a multidisciplinary team of national and
international experts.

The collaborative research
programme was designed to utilise innovative research
methods and policy partnerships to facilitate closing the
wellbeing gap within a generation. The programme leveraged
prior investment by building on the extensive information
collected from the cohort of children and families
participating in the Growing Up in New Zealand longitudinal
study.

This research will enable longitudinal studies
in New Zealand and internationally to address shared
challenges in an era of increasing digital connectivity, and
to process such data in a timely way to have increased
societal
impact.

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