Half of high school students suffer from pressure to perform

2023-11-16 10:01:06

Almost half of the 500 students between the ages of 15 and 19 surveyed reported increasing pressure to perform, and almost as many reported growing fear of failure. According to the study, the pressure mostly comes not from the family, but from the young people themselves.

According to the broadcast, in the “high school age” it becomes more difficult for young people to talk to their families about school. Three quarters of parents are still interested in their children’s school performance and 57 percent of the young people surveyed would find it helpful to be able to talk to their families about their school worries. At the same time, almost every second young person doesn’t care about their parents’ opinions and a quarter of those surveyed assume that their parents can no longer properly assess their performance anyway. However, one in five young people also stated that they could no longer find anyone at home to talk about school worries with.

According to the survey conducted before the end of the school year in May and June, young people of this age primarily put pressure on themselves to perform; it only rarely comes from the family, family psychologist Karin Alt is quoted in the broadcast. “Many young people even try not to burden the family with their school problems and to solve everything on their own.” Only ten percent of those surveyed are afraid of possible punishments if they fail at school; at home – at least with better students – comfort is more common than scolding. More than a third of parents also offer their children tutoring if their grades are poor.

According to the study, there is a connection between parents’ interest and their children’s school success: 79 percent of good students report that their parents are very interested in their grades, while 55 percent of bad students report that they are very interested in their grades. At the same time, 25 percent of bad students report that their family has a lot of worries, but only 14 percent of good ones do.

According to the survey, the family constellation also plays a role in how well young people can cope with school problems. Accordingly, children of single parents feel less heard and understood at home and are also much more likely to report worries and fears about the future in connection with school.