Bavarian students are under stress

Stressed out Bavarian students: Almost every second person is affected by this according to a Forsa survey.

A Forsa survey comes to the conclusion that every second Bavarian student is under pressure, one in seven students even under very high pressure. Thus, the students in Bavaria are significantly more stressed than in all other federal states. The pressure to perform and the fear of poor grades play a key role, according to a spokesman for the Techniker Krankenkasse (TK). But also the partially overcrowded schedule of the adolescents, should be urgently checked by the parents, commented the TC spokesman for the survey results.

30 percent of students have difficulty concentrating
In the survey, the Forsa Institute surveyed 1,000 parents from all over Germany to assess their children's stress levels. The 177 Bavarian parents interviewed most often stated nationwide that their children are under pressure or under high pressure. Although the Bavarian figures are not representative because too few fathers and mothers were interviewed, the results of the survey nevertheless illustrate the high psychological burdens faced by adolescents today. As a result of the high pressure concentration disorders are particularly common among the Bavarian students. According to the parents, 29 percent of schoolchildren in Bavaria suffer from significant concentration problems, which is a nationwide peak and five percent above the national average, said the spokesman for the TK. Also, the Bavarian students more often suffer from headaches than children from the other federal states.

Signs of increased stress of schoolchildren in Bavaria
The TK explained in view of the survey results, that there are other indications of a significantly increased stress of the Bavarian students. An internal evaluation of the billed medicinal products showed that in Bavaria the prescription of drugs to increase the ability to concentrate was well above the national average. According to the TK, not only the pressure on school performance and the fear of bad grades are major causes of mental pressure, but also the often over-busy schedule of adolescents. After the children come home from school, the homework must be done as quickly as possible, since in the afternoon often the next dates, such as tutoring, music school, ballet or football are pending. In view of the survey results, TK advises parents to thoroughly review the usually over-busy schedule of their children. Thus, for example, even with sporty recreational appointments, the negative effects of too tightly knit timetable outweigh - even though physical exercise is actually considered reducing stress. Politicians also declared that school life was an issue in the light of the poll results. Thus, for example, the middle school will soon undergo a thorough review, stressed the Bavarian Minister of Culture, Ludwig Spaenle (CSU).

Stress: cause and consequence of bad grades
In the run-up to the awarding of the half-yearly reports this coming Friday, the pressure on the Bavarian students is currently particularly high, and according to the TK also the high performance expectations of parents are often jointly responsible for the stress of the students. Parents should therefore take special care to ensure that the issue of semi-annual reports does not represent a stress situation, but is ideally understood as an opportunity. Even with bad grades, there will still be enough time until the end of the school year to improve the problem areas. Moreover, according to the TC experts, poor school performance can also be the result and not the cause of stress. Here, increased performance requirements for children would even be counterproductive.

Methods for coping with stress
First and foremost, parents and their children should strive to develop methods to successfully counteract the stressful mental stress. According to the experts, various methods of stress management are available, ranging from exercises for correct time management, through relaxation exercises to sports activities. However, many of the adult-friendly relaxation methods, such as autogenic training, yoga, or tai chi, are rather unpopular with children. All the more the adolescents are dependent on the support of their parents. In particularly critical cases, with serious personal consequences or increasing physical symptoms such as abdominal pain and headaches, it is urgent, according to the experts, to consult a psychotherapist in order to develop individually adapted stress management methods with those affected. (Fp)

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Picture: Gerd Altmann