Blog post #2 – How does stress affect high school students, and what coping mechanisms are effective?

Hello everybody! Welcome back to my inquiry. This topic is something I believe most, if not every student faces. For this inquiry, I want to deepen my knowledge into the causes of stress, exploring strategies for managing it, and examining its physical and mental consequences. Three sub topics I will be researching to guide me in the research are:

1. Causes of High School Student Stress

This subtopic will focus on why high school students experience stress. I will be exploring the various sources of stress, including academic pressures, extracurricular commitments, social challenges, and personal expectations. I will gather primary research by interviewing students at our school and see if there is a common trend or response that we all relate to, and perhaps find a cause we did not know played  a role in causing stress.

2. Coping Mechanisms and Stress Management.

This subtopic will delve into the coping mechanisms and strategies that high school students explore to manage stress. It may include investigating the effectiveness of techniques such as mindfulness, exercise, time management, seeking support from peers or professionals, and other stress management practices. I also want to research into other coping mechanisms that are not as popular, known or taught in school and investigate its effectiveness. I believe this part is extremely important as our wellbeing, especially at this period is what allows us to feel productive. I personally want to find ways I can feel less stressed so i can manage my time effectively and help out anybody who feels the same way.

3. Physical and Mental Effects of Stress:

This will examine the physical and mental effects of stress on students. I will investigate how stress impacts our overall well-being, including aspects like physical health, mental health, academic performance, and social relationships. This subtopic is essential because it provides insights into the tangible consequences of stress, which is a key component in understanding the full scope of how stress affects us.

Some sources I will be using to help my research:

physical and mental impact of stress – Search Results – PubMed (nih.gov)

Stress: Why does it happen and how can we manage it? (medicalnewstoday.com)

JSTOR: Search Results

ERIC – Search Results (ed.gov)

American Psychological Association (APA)

This inquiry questions has  significant impacts for both us as individuals and our community. As high school students ourselves, we can benefit from gaining a deeper awareness of the sources and effects of stress. Understanding effective coping mechanisms will empower us to manage our stress more effectively, which will lead to improved emotional well-being and academic performance and help students from all year groups deal will their stress. Our parents can also benefit from our research by gaining insights into our stressors and offering better support. Teachers and school staff can adjust their educational approaches to create more supportive learning environments for us. In the broader community, this research can lead to stress management programs, promoting mental health support in schools to ensure students do not feel overloaded with more than what they are capable of handling. I hope this research can make us healthier individuals and help us create a more supportive community.

Thank you all for reading my post!