School Factors Causing Vietnamese Adolescents’ Anxiety in Secondary Schools

Hong-Van Thi Dinh,

doi:10.17762/pae.v58i1.840

Abstract

Anxiety is regarded as an emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure, and it is a common phenomenon for people in general and adolescents in particular. The study aimed to determine the factors that cause anxiety among adolescents in Vietnam under the influence of gender and grade. A group of 749 Vietnamese secondary school students participated in the survey. Results showed that scores and exams caused the most anxiety for participants. Factors related to scores and exams created more anxiety for females than males. Factors related to communicating with friends, teachers, school/classroom facilities, and school safety caused more anxiety for students in grades 6, 7, and 8 than those in grade 9. Our study suggests that prevention and intervention programs should be promoted to minimize anxiety for adolescents from the pressure of scores, exams, and the impact of gender and grade.

Highlights

Adolescence is a crucial developmental stage in the life of every human being
Findings showed that 91.1% of adolescents reported that their anxiety related to scores and exams at school, while only 57.9% reported the cause of subjects studying at school. 47.9% of participants mentioned school safety as a reason for their anxiety
Results in A models (A1 to A6), where gender was as a single predictor for dependent variables, revealed that gender was statistically significantly associated with anxiety caused by scores and examinations (OR = .565, p = .022, 95% confidence interval (CI) [.347-.920]) but was not statistically significantly correlated with the remaining five other factors (p > .2)

Summary

Introduction

Adolescence is a crucial developmental stage in the life of every human being. This transition period from childhood to adult is marked with significant physiological and psychological changes (Grant, 2013). It can be said that this is the stage with the most emotional and www/psychologyandeducation.net behavioral disorders (Silk et al, 2003). Emotions such as anger, boredom, and anxiety that persist in mild or severe forms can start at this age (Langelier, 2011). Anxiety is of of the most common phenomenon in teenagers’ age (Dinh, 2014)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion