Book arms students with tools to fight stress

Even though I work hard, the teacher expects more of me. I am disappointed when I don’t do as well as others. I am confident about achieving my plans for the future.

Through a maze of more than hundred such questions aiming to identify the stress levels and ‘psychological self-constructs’ of students, a new book “Stressed... But Not Out”, based on a doctoral thesis, seeks to zero in on stress and tackle it among school students.

Giselle D’Souza, an associate professor at St Teresa’s Institute of Education, surveyed 1,092 Class 10 students over a two-year period for her PhD thesis. These findings, now compiled in a book, contain tools for identifying stress based on a scoring scale alongside suggestions for parents, schools and students.

The book was released last month and is likely to become available through schools from June. D’Souza has already conducted stress management workshops in a few schools.

The study found that stress scores were higher wherever scores for three ‘psychological self-constructs’ were lower: the academic self concept (sense of self-worth in academics), efficacy (sense of ability in performing any task) and locus of control (do you think you control your own life).

“This is the first such tool that has been created for the Indian context,” said D’Souza. The tools will also help zero in on the kind of stress students face: whether exam-related, achievement-related or social stress.

Source: Hindustan Times dated 3 May 2012