Stress in children: how fifth‐year pupils experience stress in everyday life

Abstract

In many cases, stress in children takes the form of psychosomatic symptoms. The prevalence of headache in children has increased, as has stomach pain and self-reported psychological problems. Many children also experience stress without exhibiting any symptoms, as children perceive, understand and evaluate stress in a variety of different ways. The aim of this study was to describe how fifth-year pupils experience stress in everyday life. An explorative and descriptive design based on phenomenology was chosen to investigate children's lifeworld and lived experience of the phenomenon of stress. The data analysis was based on Giorgi's method. The study comprised 29 children, who were interviewed regarding their experience of stress in everyday life. The results revealed five key constituents: 'fear of being late', 'not having sufficient time', 'physical and mental consequences', 'both a negative and a positive feeling' and 'experiencing significant others' stress'. Together, these key constituents form the overall result. This study demonstrates that stress is a part of children's everyday life. The children described stress that was often acute and linked to situations that occur in everyday life. The results can assist in identifying the factors behind the stress experienced by children. This in turn will facilitate observation and intervention when a child exhibits stress symptoms.