What Are the Causes of Stress in Teenagers?
For adults, stress often results from job responsibilities, family duties or financial obligations, which can lead you to think that teens have it easy, since they don't have to deal with grown-up issues. In reality, teens face numerous stressful situations as well; the stress simply comes from different sources.
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Schoolwork
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Schoolwork stresses most teens at one point or another. The pressure to perform well in classes determines future opportunities. For students who aren't naturally gifted in certain subjects, like math or science, getting good grades can be an intense struggle, to the point where simple assignments are stressful and exams even more so. When an adult works a job, he typically does something he is skilled at and trained for, but teens must often complete tasks in subjects that they dislike or find hard to grasp.
Relationships
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Relationships are always a source of stress for teens. In general, the more experience a person has with something and the more mature she is, the easier it is to handle problems without stress. Since teens are young and inexperienced and facing changes in hormones and emotions, friendships and romances may cause anxiety, fear or even depression. Breakups and first dates tend to be especially stressful.
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Expectations
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Expectations from parents, teachers and other adults in authority produce another common source of stress. Usually, teens want to please their parents, even if they act rebellious from time to time. When parents communicate high expectations for academic or extracurricular performance, teens feel additional stress in what is already a stressful environment.
Social Circles
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High schools are the breeding grounds for cliques, each of which may dress a certain way, listen to particular music and hold specific interests. Teens often want to fit into a certain group, even if wearing the right clothes, having the right hair style, and acting in a certain way does not line up with their personality. The desire or attempt to fit in leads to peer pressure to try things such as smoking, drinking, cheating or sex.
Work Load
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Even though teens don't usually work full-time jobs, mandatory activities and school fill their schedules to the brim, leaving little time for fun or rest. School hours usually take up six hours each day, then there are extracurricular activities and several hours of homework. Such busy schedules can lead to fatigue and burn out.
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