Prevalence of perceived stress among higher secondary school students in an educational district of South Kerala

Abstract

Background: Adolescence is a period when one’s mental resilience builds up. Also, it is a period when one may develop mental health problems, stress being one of the causes. Schools become a medium for early detection of those suffering from such issues and a platform for providing preventive measurements. Hence, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of perceived stress among students in higher secondary schools of the Thiruvananthapuram educational district, Kerala. Also, this study attempted to find the association between various socio-demographic factors and perceived stress. Methods: This was a community-based, cross-sectional study conducted using stratified cluster sampling in 539 adolescents of 48 different classes from eight higher secondary schools (four government, two private-aided, and two private-unaided) over one year from August 2018, using the Perceived Stress Scale-10. Informed consent and assent were obtained as required from the participants. A Chi-square analysis was performed to assess statistical significance. Odds Ratio and confidence intervals were calculated to estimate the strength of association. Logistic regression analysis was done to determine the risk factors. The correlation of academic performance with perceived stress was assessed using the Spearman-Rank test. Results: Significant levels of stress were observed in 34.1% of the participants, and 8.7% of those with significant stress had severe perceived stress. The levels of perceived stress were high among those who performed better academically and there was a positive correlation between both. Age and stream of their study were the factors that showed an association with the stress levels experienced by the students. Conclusion: Adolescents undergo immense stress, academics being an unavoidable stressor. Contrary to expectations, higher stress levels were observed in students who performed better. Employment of stress reduction programs in schools ought to be considered a priority.

Keywords

• adolescents
• perceived stress
• academic performance
• higher secondary schools
• thiruvananthapuram educational district