Abstract
Researchers have observed differences in stress levels, and coping abilities and mechanisms based on the community being studied. This paper reports on the impact of extracurricular activities and student communities on stress and coping for youth in the Seattle area. Various self-reports, distributed through school health teachers, were used to gain information on students' stress levels, coping mechanisms, and coping ability. Results indicate that general categorizations of communities and activities (music, sports, etc.) did not demonstrate a significant correlation with students' stress or coping levels. Correlations between stress and coping were found, as were correlations between stress and coping and the number of communities/activities that students were involved in. Results provide insight into how students' activity loads impact their stress and coping levels more than the specific activities they are involved in and open the door to further research in the field.
Highlights
20% of adolescents have a diagnosable mental illness and a quarter of individuals with mood disorders are shown to have had their disorders since adolescence [1]
As there is potential for differences between students based on extracurricular activities, identifying which communities of students are worse than others at coping with their stress allows for more accurate interventions to help students learn how to cope with their stress
The five categories for the sample population were whether they participated in volunteering or not, sports or not, music or not, clubs or not, and any of the previous activities or not
Summary
20% of adolescents have a diagnosable mental illness and a quarter of individuals with mood disorders are shown to have had their disorders since adolescence [1]. Discussions about stressors and mental health are sometimes discussed at school events or in occasional Social Emotional Learning (SEL) sessions lead by the Bellevue School District, based in the Seattle Area [2]. Stressors are defined by the American Psychological Association as “any event, force, or condition that results in physical or emotional stress” [3]. An especially noticeable gap lies in what factors influence potential trends in stress-relieving, coping mechanisms. Coping mechanisms or strategies “refer to the specific efforts, both behavioral and psychological, that people employ to master, tolerate, reduce, or minimize stressful events” [4]. As there is potential for differences between students based on extracurricular activities, identifying which communities of students are worse than others at coping with their stress allows for more accurate interventions to help students learn how to cope with their stress
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