Academic Pressure Causes Stress and Depression - Anti-Schooling Series Part 7

Academic pressure can come from society, friends, social contacts, and parents. Once a child is convinced that their parents or society is correct, then the pressure often comes from within the child. In a previous article I focused on how school in general can lead to depression, stress, sleep depreviation and suicide, but in this article I focus on the pressure from parents, society, or oneself.

The article Kids of Helicopter Parents Are Sputtering Out states:

2011 study by Terri LeMoyne and Tom Buchanan at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga looking at more than 300 students found that students with “hovering” or “helicopter” parents are more likely to be medicated for anxiety and/or depression.
A 2013 study of 297 college students reported in the Journal of Child and Family Studies found that college students with helicopter parents reported significantly higher levels of depression and less satisfaction in life and attributed this diminishment in well-being to a violation of the students’ “basic psychological needs for autonomy and competence.”

Predictors of Suicide Ideation and Depression in Hong Kong Adolescents: Perceptions of Academic and Family Climates states:

Suicide ideation was significantly associated with depression, test anxiety, academic self-concept, and adolescents' perceived parental dissatisfaction with academic performance. The correlation between test anxiety and depression was especially high.

Students under too much academic pressure notes:

Some researchers believe that academic pressure should positively affect students because they provide motivation. They are incorrect because grades may provide motivation, but not positive motivation, for the student only begins to care about their final score instead of their learning process and feel worthless without that desired A. In a study in 1986, Butler and Nisan concluded that “grades emphasized quantitative aspects of learning, depressed creativity, fostered fear of failure, and weakened students’ interest.”

Academic Stress, Parental Pressure, Anxiety and Mental Health amoung Indian High School Students notes:

Nearly two-thirds (63.5%) of the students reported stress due to academic pressure – with no significant differences across gender, age, grade, and several other personal factors. About two-thirds (66%) of the students reported feeling pressure from their parents for better academic performance. The degree of parental pressure experienced differed significantly across the educational levels of the parents, mother’s occupation, number of private tutors, and academic performance. In particular, children of fathers possessing a lower education level (non-graduates) were found to be more likely to perceive pressure for better academic performance. About one-thirds (32.6%) of the students were symptomatic of psychiatric caseness and 81.6% reported examination-related anxiety. Academic stress was positively correlated with parental pressure and psychiatric problems, while examination-related anxiety also was positively related to psychiatric problems.

Poor academic performance can lead to low self-esteem. The case against grades artcile states:

A 2002 study at the University of Michigan found that 80 percent of students surveyed based their self-worth on academic performance—more than cited family support as a source of self-esteem. A 2006 study at King’s College showed adolescents with low self-esteem were more likely to have poor health, be involved in criminal behavior, and earn less than their peers. Since it’s overwhelmingly poor students who are prone to bad grades, a self-reinforcing loop is created. Poverty leads to bad grades and low self-esteem, which leads to more poverty and social dysfunction.

School can cause stress for other family members as well. From Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background :

Family stress, measured by self-report, increased as homework load increased and as parent's perception of their capacity to assist decreased.

References and Links

Education and Health in Schools: A Survey of Parents Summary
Kids of Helicopter Parents Are Sputtering Out
Effects of Parental Warmth and Academic Pressure on Anxiety and Depression Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents
Predictors of Suicide Ideation and Depression in Hong Kong Adolescents: Perceptions of Academic and Family Climates
The Effect of Academic Stress Upon the Anxiety and Depression Levels of Gifted High School Students
For the love of their children, parents must cure themselves of the compulsion to compete at all costs
Academic Pressure and Mental Health
Academci Stress and Mental Health Among Adolescents in Shenzhen, China
'No worse fate than failure': How pressure to keep up is overwhelming students in elite districts
Students under too much academic pressure
Academic Stress, Parental Pressure, Anxiety and Mental Health amoung Indian High School Students
Race to Nowhere Documentary
Suicide on Campus and the Pressure of Perfection
Homework and Family Stress: With Consideration of Parents’ Self Confidence, Educational Level, and Cultural Background
The case against grades