stress among youth essay

Stress And Its Effects On Youth Essay

Essay On Stress And Its Effects On Youth - Everyone experiences stress to some extent. By learning how to manage stress effectively, young people can improve their physical and mental health and achieve tremendous success in school and other areas of life. Here are 100, 200 and 500 word essays on ‘stress and its effects on youth’.

Stress is a feeling of pressure or tension when an individual is faced with demands or challenges they feel they cannot meet. A wide range of factors, such as work, relationships, financial issues, or health problems, causes stress. However, excessive or prolonged stress can negatively affect physical and mental health. Here are a few sample essays on "stress and its effects on youth".

100 Words Essay On Stress And Its Effects On Youth

Stress is a part of our daily life, but excessive stress can have adverse effects on physical and mental health, particularly in youth. Stress can lead to symptoms such as irritability, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty sleeping, which can all impact academic performance. It can also lead to physical symptoms such as stomach pain, headache, and chest pain.

It is crucial for youth to find healthy ways to cope with stress, such as exercise, meditation, and talking to a trusted friend or family member, or a therapist. It is also important for adults to recognise the signs of stress in youth and offer support and guidance to help them manage it effectively. By addressing stress early on, we can help youth build resilience and better cope with life's challenges.

200 Words Essay On Stress And Its Effects On Youth

Stress is a very common part of daily life, and everyone experiences stress to some degree.

Stress And Youth

Youth are particularly vulnerable to stress because they are still developing both physically and emotionally.

Physical health problems | Stress can cause physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach aches, and difficulty sleeping. It can also make the immune system vulnerable, making young people susceptible to illness.

Mental health problems | Stress can lead to various mental health complications, including anxiety, or depression. It can also interfere with concentration and learning, making it more difficult for young people to succeed academically.

Behavioural problems | Stress can lead to behavioural changes, including irritability, aggression, and difficulty with social interactions. This can create problems in relationships with family, friends, and peers.

Strategies To Manage Stress

Exercise | Doing Exercise releases chemicals in the brain called endorphins that help reduce anxiety and improve mood.

Relaxation techniques | Relaxation Methods such as deep breathing, meditation, and muscle relaxation can help to calm the mind and body.

Time management | Prioritising tasks and setting realistic goals can help to reduce stress by making it easier to manage time and responsibilities.

Social support | Having a strong network of supportive family and acquaintances can help to reduce stress by providing a sense of connection and belonging.

500 Words Essay On Stress And Its Effects On Youth

With the increasing pressure to excel in academics, sports, and extracurricular activities, it has become nearly impossible for young people to escape stress.

Physical Effects Of Stress On Youth

The physical effects of stress on youth can be severe and can lead to various health issues such as:

Headaches: Stress can cause tension headaches, which are often accompanied by neck and shoulder pain.

Insomnia: Stress can make it difficult for young people to fall asleep, leading to chronic insomnia and fatigue.

Digestive problems: Stress can lead to stomach pain, constipation, and diarrhoea.

Weakened immune system: Stress can weaken the immune system, making young people more prone to infections and illnesses.

Mental Effects Of Stress On Youth

The mental effects of stress on youth can lead to various mental health issues such as:

Stress can lead to feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and worthlessness, which can eventually lead to depression.

Stress can cause feelings of worry and fear, leading to anxiety disorders.

Stress can affect a young person's ability to concentrate and remember things, leading to poor academic performance.

Stress can lead to negative self-perception and low self-esteem, affecting a young person's overall sense of self-worth.

Managing Stress In Youth

Here are some tips for managing stress in youth:

Exercise | Regular physical activity can help reduce stress and improve overall well-being.

Get enough sleep | Proper and peaceful sleep is essential for managing stress and maintaining good physical and mental health.

Practice relaxation techniques | Techniques like deep breathing, meditation, and yoga can help reduce stress and improve overall well-being.

Seek help | It is crucial for young people to seek help from parents, teachers, or mental health professionals if they feel overwhelmed by stress.

My Experience

I remember a time when I was under a lot of stress. I was in the last year of university education, and I had a lot of assignments and exams coming up. I was also working part-time and trying to balance everything. It felt like there wasn't enough time in the day to get everything done and I was constantly feeling overwhelmed.

I started to have trouble sleeping and found myself feeling anxious and irritable all the time. I knew something was wrong, and I needed to do something to manage my stress. Then I decided to seek therapy and decided to take some time for myself and focus on self-care. I started exercising regularly and made an effort to eat healthily and get enough sleep. I also made a list of all the things I needed to do and prioritised them so that I could focus on the most important tasks first.

It wasn't easy, but these small changes helped me manage my stress. I could feel more in control of my life. It's important to remember that it's okay to ask for help when you're feeling overwhelmed and to take care of yourself in times of stress.

Stress is a natural thing in our lives, and young people need to learn how to manage it. Following the tips mentioned above, young people can effectively manage their stress and lead happy and healthy lives.

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Teenage Stress

Addressing the pressures teens face in today’s fast-paced world..

Posted December 8, 2015 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

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Teens are under more stress today than ever before. Sound like an exaggeration? Despite the fact that I am often prone to hyperbole, consider this: being a teenager is not easy.

Adolescence has always been a tricky developmental period defined by fundamental yet somewhat difficult changes (physical, cognitive, and social) experienced by teens as they make their way from childhood toward adulthood. These transitions trigger changes in the way the teen sees him/herself, and the way that others see and treat him or her. They are no longer children, but not yet adults, and this series of transitions not only has an impact on the individual experiencing the transitions, but also on parents, peers, and society as a whole.

Adolescence has always been an awkward stage where teens struggle to build their own identity , seek autonomy, and learn about intimacy and sexuality in relationships. These things all cause a certain level of angst, but they are not really new.

What is new is the environment that we live in, and it is this fast-paced, perpetually plugged-in society that sets the tone for the messages and expectations that teens receive every day. Due to varying pressures around school, work, families, relationships, social media , and the seemingly endless series of transitions involved in simply being an adolescent, teens today are indeed under more stress than ever before.

There are certain contexts that inevitably make being a teen even more difficult. Living in poverty, or being in an abusive home, for example. Other, more recent issues, such as society’s pressures on young people to grow up fast, have their lives completely figured out by the time they start middle school, and today’s technological and social innovations that have transformed family life, make the experience of teen transitions exponentially more difficult.

So, why are teens so “angsty” today?

School: Today, kids are expected to know what they want to do—where they want to go to school and in which field they'd like to work—earlier than ever before. They are also expected to do well, and are put on “success” tracks even in elementary school. They have to do well because it is assumed that all kids will/must go to college, and not just that, but they must get into the best college if they want to “succeed” and be competitive in today’s job market. This is a lot of pressure on teens.

Work: Most teens work to earn money, which they like, but it takes time away from other things like academics, extra-curricular activities, volunteering, spending time with family and friends, having fun, and simply enjoying life.

Expectations: Whether it is real or not, teenagers' perceptions are that they are expected to be successful or good at everything . Teens today feel a lot of pressure from parents, teachers, coaches, other family/friends to not fail. Failure has somehow gone from being viewed as a learning opportunity to being clearly unacceptable. This puts even more pressure on teens.

Social Connections: Given the fact that the overwhelming majority of teens today are tethered to a smartphone or other device that keeps them linked on social networking sites, teens justifiably feel “on” all the time. Their every move is judged by their peers, whether their peers are their true, real live friends, or the 1,254 “friends” on Facebook or followers on Twitter. So, the pressure is always on to be cute, clever, sexy, smart, popular, etc., and because social networking sites are the modern-day hangout spot, where teens spend a huge chunk of each day, it can be exhausting.

What can parents do?

• We, as parents of teens, must communicate. A recent study from the Pew Research Center asked a national sample of adults which skills are most important for children to have to succeed in the world today. The answer: communication. As parents, we should take our own advice and talk to our teens about expectations, goals , and ask teens about what they think, what they want, and how they feel.
• This, of course, means that we should also be prepared to listen. Really listen. Teens need to know that although we clearly want what is best for them in their future lives, what’s best doesn’t necessarily have to equate to what we want. We should hear what they have to say and consider how they envision their future.
• Our teens also need unconditional love, acceptance, and support, and we should be explicit in communicating this to them. We often assume that they know this (and they probably do), but they really need to hear it.
• Parents should also help their teens to set realistic expectations and keep things in perspective. No, it’s not the end of the world as we know it if our teen, for example, has not decided what she is majoring in during her freshman year of college. Nor does it make you a horrible parent to think that it is OK for our teens to fail at something… after all, failure presents an opportunity for growth! If we allow our children to fall, they can learn from their mistakes (called natural consequences) and pick themselves back up.

Sara Villanueva, Ph.D. , an associate professor of psychology at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas, is the author of The Angst of Adolescence: How to Parent Your Teen and Live to Laugh About It .

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Article Contents

Introduction, three paradigms of stress research, complex pathways, acknowledgements.

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Stress and adolescent well-being: the need for an interdisciplinary framework

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Inga Dora Sigfusdottir, Alfgeir Logi Kristjansson, Thorolfur Thorlindsson, John P Allegrante, Stress and adolescent well-being: the need for an interdisciplinary framework, Health Promotion International , Volume 32, Issue 6, December 2017, Pages 1081–1090, https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daw038

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Stress and strain among adolescents have been investigated and discussed largely within three separate disciplines: mental health, where the focus has been on the negative effects of stress on emotional health; criminology, where the emphasis has been on the effects of strain on delinquency; and biology, where the focus has been to understand the effects of stress on physiology. Recently, scholars have called for increased multilevel developmental analyses of the bio-psychosocial nature of risk and protection for behaviors of individuals. This paper draws on several different but converging theoretical perspectives in an attempt to provide an overview of research relevant to stress in adolescence and puts forth a new framework that aims to provide both a common language and consilience by which future research can analyze the effects of multiple biological, social and environmental factors experienced during specific developmental periods, and cumulatively over time, on harmful behavior during adolescence. We present a framework to examine the effects of stress on diverse behavioral outcomes among adolescents, including substance use, suicidal behavior, self-inflicted harm, and delinquency.

Adolescent substance use, self-harm, suicides and delinquency are large-scale problems in most economically advanced societies and of growing concern in developing countries. According to the most recent United Nations drug report, almost one-quarter of a billion people used illicit drugs in 2013 ( United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2015 ). Around 1 in 10 of these users will become addicted, but drug abuse kills around 200 000 people worldwide each year ( United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2015 ). In this context, it is important to note that most drug abusers initiate their use during adolescence ( Sigfusdottir et al. , 2009 ). According to Selfharm UK, it is thought that as many as 13% of young people between the ages of 11 and 16 may intentionally try to hurt themselves at some point ( Selfharm UK, 2015 ). New figures published in 2014 suggested a 70% increase in 10–14 year olds attending accident and emergency hospital departments for self-harm-related reasons over the preceding 2 years ( Selfharm UK, 2015 ). In addition, both substance abuse and self-inflicted harm are positively related to delinquent behaviors such as engaging in stealing, vandalism and violence ( Hirschi, 1969 ; Agnew, 2006 ). All these behavioral problems are also positively related to a host of additional issues in adolescents such as depressed mood ( Mann et al. , 2014 ) and increased risk of school drop-out ( Kristjansson et al. , 2008 ). Without attempting to mitigate the above-mentioned harmful behaviors, of an even graver concern are suicides, which have increased by 60% worldwide during the last four decades and are now among the three leading causes of death in this age group ( Wasserman et al ., 2005 ; www.Suicide.org ).

Often, these problems arise when young people experience major stress in their lives and/or are the result of being born into adverse circumstances. Although quite a lot is known about the effects of stress, there are still major gaps in our knowledge, especially in relation to how stress affects physiological and emotional reactions, and harmful behavior. An important reason for this lack of understanding is the fact that studies of the social environment and human biology have developed largely as independent scientific disciplines. Currently, there is an emerging consensus that integrating factors at multiple biological and social levels is necessary in order to further our knowledge of human health and behavior ( D'Onorfio and Lahey, 2010 ). It is, however, not an easy task to overcome the current disciplinary-based paradigms that are deeply rooted in the organizations of universities, funding agencies, and science policies. Often, studies that concern closely related topics, have developed along the lines of independent scientific disciplines in separate or even parallel ways, using different terminology for similar issues. An example of this can be found in public health and the lack of explicit theoretical and methodological linkages that exist between the disciplines of epidemiology and criminology in their work with marginalized populations ( Akers and Lanier, 2009 ). The concepts with which the two disciplines work essentially have the same meaning but are addressed differently within the disciplines; more theoretically within criminology, and more practically within public health. Research on the important topic of stress is another good example of this. Various disciplines have identified stress as a key variable in relation to health and social problems. We do, however, lack research that brings together knowledge from the various scientific disciplines in a coherent study on stress. One reason for this is the divide between social sciences that focus predominantly on the social environment and behaviors and the natural sciences that concern the human body and biology. We simply do not have the kind of studies that include both refined measurement of social contexts and sophisticated measurement of biological processes that are relevant to understanding specific health problems. Only recently, in part because of the emergence of new technologies, have behavioral scientists begun to think simultaneously about the relevant social and biological mechanisms in the context of an integrated, multilevel developmental analytic framework in order to understand the processes and pathways through which the environment, social circumstances and biology interact to influence healthy adolescent development. As Cullen ( Cullen, 2011) points out, social scientists can no longer pretend that biology is not a part of human behavior and thus an important part of harmful behavior. At the same time, we no longer need to fear that combining biology and social data will lead to ‘blaming the victim’, social engineering or biological reductionism. Ever since the human genome was sequenced in 2001, we have become more aware of the fact that the link between biology and environment is much more complex than we had thought. Studies have, for example, shown that increased maternal care given to rat pups permanently enhances the expression of a certain gene in areas of the brain that eventually affect the ways the animals react to stress ( Francis, 1999 ; Weaver et al. , 2004 ). These studies have provided us with evidence that we have moved beyond the nature–nurture conundrum. We now know that just as our environment is potentially modifiable, our biology is flexible, and may be largely dependent on social processes, and that the two work in tandem to shape the individual and the life course ( Rafter, 2008 ). In line with that, Francis and Kaufer ( Francis and Kaufer, 2011) recently argued that we should finally abandon the nature versus nurture debate and focus on understanding the mechanisms through which our biology and environments are intertwined and affect each other throughout people's lives.

In this paper, we propose a multilevel developmental framework that we believe can be used to examine the influence of stress factors on diverse behavioral outcomes among adolescents, including substance use, suicidal behavior, self-inflicted harm and delinquency. Drawing on biological, social and health theories, as well as plethora of research on the effects of stress on physiology, emotions and behavior, we put forth a framework that brings together three different paradigms. We describe the effects of multiple environmental factors experienced during specific developmental periods, and cumulatively over time, on behavior during adolescence, and we elaborate on the bio-social link between stress, physiology, emotions and behavior. Our aim is not to put forth a holistic integrated theory on the effects of stress on adolescent behavior, but rather to call the attention of the scholarly communities to the overlap in knowledge, the increasingly critical importance of consilience and the potential benefit of making scholars in the various communities familiar with the works of each other.

Three main paradigms have been developed and used over several decades to examine and understand the effects of stress on health and behavior. The first one is rooted in biology and focuses on the concept of allostatic load (AL) to capture the cumulative biological burden exacted on the body from repeated attempts to adapt to life's demands ( Seeman et al. , 2001 ). The second paradigm stems from the mental health literature and focuses on the negative effects of stress on emotional and mental health ( Dohrenwend and Dohrenwend, 1969 ; Aneshensel et al. , 1991 ). The third paradigm is rooted in criminology/sociology of deviance and studies the effects of what is labeled ‘strain’ on delinquent behavior ( Merton, 1938 ; Cohen, 1955 ; Cloward and Ohlin, 1960 ).

We argue that the main difference between these three paradigms on the effects of stress on health and behavior is that they study stress on different levels; physiological, psychological, behavioral and group or community levels using different theoretical perspectives, different terminology and often focusing on different variables. For example, the various disciplines have discussed the effects of stress and strain on separate outcomes. The health sciences have focused on the effects on physiological reactions, psychology on analyzing the effects on emotional reactions and mental health and some criminologists and sociologists on the effects of stress and strain on behavior, whereas other sociologists and criminologists have focused on the rates of sickness or crime within groups and the collective efficacy of communities or even populations to counteract health risks and problem behavior ( Sampson et al. , 1999 ). The focus within different fields has also been on diverse levels at which stress/strain is created. Some sociologists and criminologists, for example, have focused on the larger structure of society and the links between social structure and the health-related problems of communities and populations, while research on stress and health within biology and mental health disciplines have placed greater emphasis on different stress exposures experienced by individuals, for example, in the form of negative life events or clinically diagnosed conditions such as depression or anxiety disorders. Hence, there are numerous social factors and conditions that may influence or increase the likelihood of stress and strain; originating within the broader organization of society, in negative life events that include both chronic stressors, such as persistent family conflicts, and acute events, such as a sudden death of a parent. We believe that considerably more knowledge on the processes of how stress leads to physiological, emotional and behavioral outcomes is a necessary prerequisite for understanding stress-related health problems. Below we discuss the different aspects of the three paradigms.

Stress and physiology

The first paradigm is rooted in biology and focuses on the effects of stress on physiological reactions. While humans have evolved to cope well with the occasional instances of acute stress caused by life-threatening events, recurrent activation of the body's stress response, particularly if the individual lacks coping resources, may have harmful effects on the body's physiology in the long run. The hypothalamus–pituitary–adrenal axis (HPA) and the sympathetic adrenal medullary system (SAM) are considered primary mediators through which all stressors activate a common set of physiological pathways. These systems stimulate adaptation or ‘allostasis’ as defined by Sterling and Eyer ( Sterling and Eyer, 1988) . In the short term, allostasis allows us to adapt to a wide range of stressors, but when frequent or excessive demands push allostatic processes beyond their normal operating ranges, wear and tear at the cellular level follows. AL is the result, representing the cumulative impact of stressors on the body's regulatory systems, with AL contributing to outcomes such as poor mental and physical health outcomes ( Danese and McEwen, 2012 ).

Prior research has empirically supported some of the pathways by which stress influences physiology. For example, low socioeconomic status and poor interpersonal relationship histories have been associated with increased AL in a number of community-based cohorts ( Johnson et al. , 1992 ; Karlamangla et al. , 2002 ; Seplaki et al. , 2006 ) and prospective research has associated AL at baseline with increased risk for all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease and declines in cognitive and physical functioning. Family environments, social conditions and psychological processes have in this way been shown to affect biological processes and biological functioning and predispositions influence the ways in which an individual selects and is shaped by the environment ( Rutter, 2002 ; Repetti et al. , 2011 ). All-in-all, research to date suggests that there are multiple interconnected biological systems that respond to psychosocial stress and influence each other. Hence, minor alterations in one system due to psychosocial stress may influence the functioning of the other(s).

Stress and emotions

Based on findings showing that stressful life events contribute to the onset and course of mental symptoms and disorders, the social stress model has guided efforts to examine social experiences and circumstances that are associated with variations in risk for mental health problems ( Dohrenwend and Dohrenwend, 1969 ; Turner et al. , 1995 ; Pearlin, 1999 ). The underlying assumption of the model is that variations in stress exposure are closely related to individual life conditions and social circumstances. In line with this reasoning, Aneshensel ( Aneshensel, 1992) called for a reorientation away from viewing stress as an isolated risk factor and toward its consideration as a link in a causal chain beginning with social conditions and ending with differences in risk for psychological distress. Numerous studies have supported the social stress model. Hence, both negative life events and chronic strain in the form of poverty, family conflict or abuse have been found to predict emotional problems ( Dohrenwend, 1990 ; Aneshensel et al. , 1991 ; Aneshensel, 1992 ; Turner and Lloyd, 1999 ; Ross, 2000 ).

The process through which stress affects emotions is obviously complicated. Understanding the underlying biological systems is a vital piece in this puzzle. A body of research has implicated disturbances in the HPA axis stress response system in the development of depression ( Murray et al. , 2010 ). Researchers have also suggested that perturbations of cortisol may represent a risk factor for the development of depression. Thus, Goodyer et al . ( Goodyer et al. , 2000) studied a sample of high-risk adolescents and found that the occurrence of one or more very high morning cortisol values over several days of salivary collection predicted the onset of depressive disorder in the subsequent 12 months. Adam et al . ( Adam et al. , 2010) reported similar findings, showing that a larger increase in cortisol in the 30 min after waking (i.e. the cortisol awakening response) predicted onsets of depression over the subsequent year among adolescents at risk for depression due to high levels of neuroticism. High levels of negative mood and life events at baseline also independently predicted onsets of depression in the same study.

Stress, social environment and social structure

It is now widely recognized that the social environment and social relationships can have powerful effects on health and behavioral outcomes. However, several studies underscore the complexity of capturing the social influences at various levels ( Brooks-Gunn et al. , 1993 ; Duncan and Raudenbush, 1999 ; Sampson, et al. , 1999 , 2002 ; Bernburg et al. , 2009a , b , c ). Colvin et al . ( Colvin et al. , 2002) emphasize that it is important to note that coercion can happen both at the micro level of interpersonal relations and at the macro level, where it includes economic and social pressure, created by social circumstances such as structural poverty, unemployment and conflict among groups. Thus, strain and conflict at the social and the neighborhood levels may influence the level of stress among groups or individuals. Merton's influential strain theory is good example of this complexity of levels. His ( Merton, 1938 ) classic theory of anomie describes how shared ideology of equal opportunity conflicts with cultural and social constraints that reduce or even hinder certain groups to achieve desirable social goals and may cause strain that is experienced as stress at both the group and individual level. Thus, Merton's theory of anomie and strain has inspired several sociological and criminological theories of the influence of social conditions on individuals ( Merton, 1938 ; Cohen, 1955 ; Cloward and Ohlin, 1960 ). Merton's ( Merton, 1938) theory of anomie also suggests that these cultural and social constraints may cause conflict and strain by hindering certain groups of adolescents to achieve desirable social goals. Researchers that have focused on these group effects of Merton's theory have described how community characteristics influence the life of children and adolescents over and beyond their individual-level experiences ( Brooks-Gunn et al. , 1991 , 1993 ; Kawachi et al. , 1997 ; Sampson et al. , 1999 ; Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn, 2000 ; Bernburg et al. , 2009a ).

Below, we discuss the individual and the community aspects of the social paradigm separately. But before we do that, we would like to make two points regarding this issue. First, while the physiological and psychological paradigms focus on the individual as a unit of analysis, the sociological paradigm operates on two different levels ( Duncan and Raudenbush, 1999 ; Sampson et al. , 1999 ; Billari, 2015 ). Recent advances in multilevel modeling have made it possible to analyze both the group and the individual level. In other words, we now can analyze the group level controlling for individual-level effects. Secondly, the same social mechanisms can operate on two different levels, for example, family conflict may exist between individual spouses, but they may also be influenced by community processes ( Bernburg et al. , 2009c ).

Individual-level effects

Several individual-level theories of stress research, which build on Merton's anomie theory, focus on the effects of strain on delinquent behavior. In 1992, Agnew put forth a revised version of strain theory, which he calls general strain theory (GST). GST combines aspects from different previously developed theories, including those on stress, equity/justice and aggression, to explain the effects of strain on harmful behavior among adolescents. Unlike prior strain theories, GST argues that adolescents are not only concerned with future goals of monetary success and middle class status but are also concerned about more immediate goals, such as doing well at school and being popular among peers. The theory proposes that social conditions may cause strain or blockage that frustrates adolescents and may lead to harmful behaviors.

While Agnew recognizes that there are many opportunities for individuals to experience strain, GST subsumes strain under three broad categories. First, strain may arise because individuals fail to achieve goals that they value. Secondly, GST maintains that strain arises if individuals experience threat or actual removal of valued stimuli, i.e. when individuals lose something that they value, for example, a boy- or girlfriend or when they need to leave their school and attend a new one. Thirdly, strain may emanate from the presentation of negative situations or events. This type of strain reflects the problems that arise for individuals when they experience adverse situations that they cannot legally escape from, such as family conflict, victimization or child abuse. GST proposes that adolescents are sometimes pressed into delinquency by negative emotional reactions that result from strain. In response to strain and its consequent negative emotional states, therefore, adolescents can respond with acts of theft, violence, vandalism and drug and/or alcohol use. Hence, GST can potentially explain a diverse range of delinquent behaviors, and provides an appropriate framework in the discussion on the effects of stress on multiple different outcomes, such as substance use, self-harm, suicides and delinquency.

A number of studies have provided support for GST, showing that strain leads to harmful behavior through negative emotional reactions. For the first 10 years, tests of the theory mainly focused on anger as the critical emotional reaction ( Mazerolle and Piquero, 1998 ; Aseltine et al. , 2000 ; Mazerolle et al. , 2000 ; Capowich et al. , 2001 ).

This was because anger results when individuals blame their adversity on others. It increases the individual's level of perceived injury, creates a desire for retaliation, energizes the individual for action and lowers inhibitions. However, results on the effects of strain on delinquent behavior mediated through anger were somewhat mixed. While extensive evidence has shown that higher levels of anger in adolescence are associated with a host of adverse psychosocial outcomes during that time period and in later life (e.g. Evans and English, 2002 ; Wittmann et al. , 2008 ; Midei and Matthews, 2009 ; Sigfusdottir and Silver, 2009 ; Sigfusdottir et al. , 2010 ), other studies have not revealed anger to be a key mediator ( Unnever et al. , 2004 ).

In line with these findings, scholars have pointed out that anger is not the only emotion likely to arise under stress and highlighted the importance of furthering our understanding of different emotions as mediating factors in this relationship ( Sigfusdottir et al. , 2004 ). In recent years, studies have shown that although anger and depressed mood are highly correlated emotions, comorbidity does not mean that these emotions are similar in their relations to behavioral outcomes ( Sigfusdottir et al. , 2004 , 2008 ; Asgeirsdottir et al. , 2011 ). Whereas anger energizes the individual for action, lowers inhibitions and hence increases externalizing behavior, depressed mood is not related to this type of behavior. Similarly, depressed mood is highly associated with certain kinds of (internalizing) behavior, such as suicidal ideation and self-harm, while anger is a much weaker predictor of those behaviors. These findings have added to our understanding of the implications of the interrelatedness between these phenomena, showing that whereas depressed mood and anger are overlapping phenomena, they are separate in their relations to behavioral outcomes. At the same time, they have revealed how complicated this process is, and the fact that the way adverse circumstances translate into behavior is still little understood. For example, a recent paper on family conflict/violence and sexual abuse, and suicidal ideation and attempt showed that even though depressed mood and anger were highly comorbid, co-occurring to a high degree, they differed in their behavioral outcomes; depressed mood was more strongly associated with suicidal ideation, whereas anger was more strongly related to suicidal attempts ( Sigfusdottir et al. , 2013 ). Furthermore, the complexity of the associations between stress, emotional reactions and harmful behavior become apparent when considering the findings that; when controlling for anger, depressed mood is strongly related to suicidal ideation and remains also quite strongly related to suicidal attempt, but when controlling for depressed mood, anger is only related to suicidal attempt.

Community-level effects

Merton's ( Merton, 1938) theory of Anomie suggests that some societal or neighborhood factors are contextual in the sense that they cannot be reduced to individual-level experience. They describe how community characteristics influence the life of children and adolescents over and beyond their individual-level experiences. It is therefore important to incorporate higher-level measures on the local community level and policy environment (e.g. counties, districts) that may now be studied in conjunction with individual-level outcomes using multilevel analysis techniques (e.g. hierarchical linear models, growth curve models, multilevel structural equation models). Such approaches provide an important way to study how community characteristics influence the life of children and adolescents in combination with individual characteristics. Studies on community-level stress have focused on important structural factors, such as community poverty, neighborhood instability, inequality and relative deprivation ( Brooks-Gunn et al. , 1991 , 1993 ; Kawachi et al. , 1997 ; Sampson et al. , 1999 ; Leventhal and Brooks-Gunn, 2000 ; Bernburg et al. , 2009a ). For example, community levels of family conflict influence not only the likelihood of harmful behavior among adolescents that experience disruption personally, but also that higher aggregated community levels of disrupted family processes increase the likelihood of harmful behavior among all adolescents in such communities ( Bernburg et al. , 2009c ). This point is important, especially given the central role that families play in many theories of child and adolescent harmful behavior ( Hirschi, 1969 ; Agnew, 1992 ; Sampson and Laub, 1993 ). The recent multilevel findings indicate that research on the effect of stress, including family conflict on adolescent behavior, should not be limited to individual-level analysis. Time and age also appear to matter in this respect; Odgers et al . have recently shown that neighborhood effects on child outcomes may be detected as early as from the age of 5, and that this association tends to increase over time ( Odgers et al. , 2012 ). In order to fully understand the processes through which neighborhoods affect individuals, we need to focus not only on the link between neighborhood characteristics and behavioral outcomes, but also on the mediating mechanisms in the form of emotional and biological responses. Recently, Wallace ( Wallace, 2012) made an important point by suggesting that disorder needs to invoke feelings of fear in order to affect peoples' health. Hence, it is necessary to study not only the main effects of neighborhood characteristics on outcomes, but to include possible mediating mechanisms, in the form of emotional reactions and biological responses. The framework we are putting forth proposes that stress, including neighborhood stress, affects behavior through both physiological and emotional reactions. Hence, the framework argues for the need to capture neighborhood characteristics all at once, is fit for neighborhood modeling and includes a variety of individual-level survey and biomarker measures. Recent findings indicate that research on the effect of stress, including family conflict on adolescent behavior, should not be limited to individual-level analysis, therefore adding a new dimension to previous research paradigms. In short, prior findings from multilevel analysis show that limiting research to the individual-level approach provides an incomplete account of the effects that the social environment has on children and adolescents.

Each of the three paradigms above have guided studies showing that stress affects our physiology, emotions and behavior. However, the relationships between stress, physiology, emotions, behavior, and social structure are complex. Exactly how stress translates into outcomes such as harmful behavior is little understood. Hence, it is highly likely that whether or not an environmental stress becomes relevant to an individual does not only depend on how often a stressor occurs and how severe it is, but how strongly the individual physiologically, and emotionally, reacts to stress. To corroborate the view of how complicated this process is, recent studies on disruption of the HPA axis and cortisol production paint an inconsistent picture on its relations with emotional reactions ( Tyrka et al. , 2010 ) and harmful behavior ( Sondeijker et al. , 2007 ; Ruttle et al. , 2011 ). In order to come closer than previous work has in estimating how environmental stress and strain may affect biological responses among adolescents, the framework presented in Figure  1  proposes that stress and strain at the community and individual levels affect physiological and emotional reactions along the early life to childhood continuum that can result in harmful behavior during adolescence.

Community-level stress and strain and the proposed pathways to harmful behavior, with associated measures.

This proposed multilevel developmental framework argues for the importance of examining the impact of stress on biological systems and specific emotions, as well as the interplay between these factors in order to elucidate the relevant pathways to different behavioral outcomes. The framework suggests that future studies examine in detail the influence of cumulative as well as specific stressors on emotional reactions, while identifying essential moderators and the potential mediating role of the biological systems in this relationship and the development of these pathways across important developmental transitions. The arrows connecting these factors to harmful behavioral outcomes in adolescence represent the pathways of primary interest. Thus, stress experienced early in life may have implications for harmful behavior in adolescence, through physiological and emotional reactions.

During the last 20 years, research with children and adolescents has linked stress to poor health and harmful behavior. Research has demonstrated that social conflict at various levels, ranging from societal levels to specific social groups, such as the family or peer groups, can increase stress that has harmful consequences for health and the well-being of children and adolescents. First, research at the societal level has shown how social environments can influence the consequences of stress. Secondly, research at the psychological level has demonstrated how stressful situations and life events interact with personal characteristics to produce harmful stress-related outcomes. Thirdly, research on stress at the biological level casts light on the biological and physiological mechanisms involved in the harmful influences of stress on human health. The diversity of concepts applied in the study of stress and strain mirrors the fact that the domain has been largely investigated and discussed within separate academic disciplines, each focusing on a certain level of analysis; with the biological sciences focusing on the effects of stress on physiological reactions, psychological sciences examining the effects of stress on emotional reactions and social sciences focusing on the effects of stress/strain on behavior. Within different fields, the focus has also been on diverse levels at which stress/strain is created, with sociologists and criminologists, for example, focusing on the larger structure of society and the links between social structure and population strain; they have mostly worked with the term strain and its effects on delinquency. Research on stress within health disciplines, however, has placed greater emphasis on different stress exposures experienced by individuals and their effects on individual mental and physical health.

There is no doubt that research at these different levels has furthered our understanding of the harmful effects of stress on the welfare of children and adolescents. But despite several decades of robust findings on the effects of adverse experiences on health and harmful behavior, major gaps still remain in our knowledge about the mechanisms through which adverse experiences work to increase the likelihood of poor health and harmful behavior during adolescence ( Cullen, 1994 ; Colvin et al. , 2002 ). We know, for instance, that exposure to, and experience of, stress increases the odds for later negative development, including emotional problems, deficits in physical health and even harmful behaviors. What we do not know is whether these odds are cumulative, can be quantified or can be reversed with external supportive interventions during early developmental stages and later adolescence.

We believe that bringing together knowledge from the various scientific disciplines in a coherent study on stress is critical for advancing our understanding of threats to adolescent well-being. Such an approach would have important implications for policies within education, criminal justice and physical and mental health. We propose that in order to come closer than previous work has in estimating how environmental stress may affect biological responses that in turn lead to different emotions and behavior among adolescents, a comprehensive research approach must form the basis for future empirical studies. Moreover, it is important to design longitudinal studies where data on participants are collected at several times over the lifespan, including data drawn on key variables from the pre-birth period, such as maternal and intrauterine factors. Developing a research design that allows us to combine developmental approaches and various contexts in a comprehensive and effective way is one of the major challenges for future research (see Duncan and Raudenbush, 1999 ). Also, to provide a basis for developing a novel and comprehensive understanding of adolescent health and harmful behavior, it is important to examine both mediating and moderating effects of social–environmental predictors on physiological, emotional and behavioral outcomes. By taking such a theoretical approach, we would overcome the methodological weaknesses that many studies focusing on the early determinants of children's environment on later outcomes have faced. Moreover, as pointed out in a recent review, clinical samples do not provide a comprehensive understanding of confounding and comorbid factors, as the thresholds of discrete conditions are already defined, while cross-sectional studies cannot enhance our understanding of developmental processes ( Thompson et al. , 2010 ). Thus, in addition to issues pertaining to research design, we argue that it is important to combine different theoretical paradigms of research on the effects of stress on behavioral outcomes.

It is important to capture variables from biological, individual and community levels in one comprehensive analysis. Such a holistic conceptual approach would allow us to disentangle how multiple environmental factors intertwine to produce greater odds for unhealthy development. To accomplish this task, we need to move beyond a narrow discipline-based approach by adding together viewpoints and methodological approaches from different fields. To facilitate such work, we need a universal language and uniform concepts and measures to describe similar processes that heretofore have been discussed using different terms within diverse disciplines. A prerequisite for such common language is a multilevel developmental framework, accompanied by empirical tests, telling us whether similar processes may be at work in different fields. The framework we have proposed provides such a prerequisite for investigating the effects of multiple-level factors, within the larger structure of society as well as in closer social circumstances of the individual, experienced during specific developmental periods, and cumulatively over time, on physiology, emotions and behavior in adolescence. Such a model would provide a unique opportunity to begin to understand the questions about whether the effects of stress may be conditioned by outside factors and what intervention approaches prove most beneficial in hindering harmful emotional and behavioral reactions to stress during adolescence.

This work was supported by a Project Grant (206580-21-22-23) from RANNIS, the Icelandic Centre for Research and a Research Consolidator Grant (ERC-CoG-2014—No. 647860) from the European Research Council.

We thank George Bonanno, Department of Clinical and Counseling Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, for offering insightful comments on an early draft of the manuscript. We also thank Ingibjorg Eva Thorisdottir, research assistant at Reykjavik University, and Lindsay Huffhines, Department of Community, Family, and Addiction Services, Texas Tech University (a Fulbright Student Program Scholar at Reykjavik University at the time), for their assistance in the preparation of the manuscript.

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Essay on Stress On Students

Students are often asked to write an essay on Stress On Students in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Stress On Students

Stress on students: a pressing concern.

Stress has become a significant problem for students of all ages. Many factors, such as academic pressure, social expectations, and family issues, can contribute to stress in students.

Impact On Students’ Well-being:

Stress can negatively affect students’ physical and mental health. It can lead to anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues. Physically, stress can cause headaches, stomach aches, and other physical symptoms.

Effects on Academic Performance:

Stress can interfere with students’ ability to learn and focus in school. When students are stressed, they may have difficulty paying attention, remembering information, and solving problems. This can lead to lower grades and a decreased interest in school.

Coping With Stress:

Students need to learn effective ways to manage stress. Some helpful strategies include:

• Talking to a trusted adult about their concerns.
• Getting regular exercise.
• Eating a healthy diet.
• Getting enough sleep.
• Practicing relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing or meditation.
• Learning time management skills.
• Seeking professional help if needed.

Conclusion:

Student stress is a serious issue that can impact their physical and mental health, as well as their academic performance. By recognizing the signs of stress and learning effective coping strategies, students can take control of their stress and improve their overall well-being.

250 Words Essay on Stress On Students

Stress on students.

School children always experience stress. Stress can be influenced by various factors including exams, relations with peers, and expectations from parents and teachers. A little bit of stress can be helpful as it can motivate a child to study harder and perform better. However, too much stress can be harmful. It can cause physical symptoms, such as headaches and stomachaches and emotional symptoms, such as anxiety and depression.

Causes of Stress In Students

Stress in students can be caused by a variety of factors, including academic pressure, extracurricular activities, and social interactions. Academic pressure can be a major source of stress for students. Students may feel stressed about getting good grades, taking tests, and meeting the expectations of their parents and teachers. Extracurricular activities can also be a source of stress, especially if students are trying to balance their academic and extracurricular commitments. Social interactions can also be a source of stress for students, especially if they are struggling to make friends or fit in.

Effects of Stress on Students

Stress can have a negative impact on students’ physical and mental health. Physically, stress can lead to headaches, stomachaches, and sleep problems. Mentally, stress can lead to anxiety, depression, and difficulty concentrating. Stress can also make it more difficult for students to learn and remember information.

Coping with Stress

There are a number of things that students can do to cope with stress. These include:

• Talking to a trusted adult, such as a parent, teacher, or counselor.
• Exercising regularly.
• Eating healthy foods.
• Learning how to relax and manage stress.

If stress is severe, it is important to seek professional help. A therapist can help students to identify the sources of their stress and develop coping mechanisms.

500 Words Essay on Stress On Students

What is stress.

Stress is a feeling we get when we are worried or uncomfortable about something. This feeling can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. In the case of students, stress is a very common experience. It often comes from the pressure of exams, homework, and the need to balance school with other activities.

Causes of Stress in Students

One of the main reasons students feel stressed is because of the pressure to do well in exams. Many students feel they have to get the best grades to be successful in the future. This pressure can come from their parents, teachers, or even themselves. Another reason is the amount of homework and assignments they have to complete. Sometimes, there is so much work that students don’t know how to manage their time well. This can make them feel overwhelmed and stressed.

Besides academic pressure, students also face stress from trying to fit in with their peers. This includes making friends, dealing with bullies, or trying to be part of a group. Social media also adds to this stress because students often compare themselves with others online.

Stress can affect students in many ways. It can make it hard for them to concentrate on their studies, leading to lower grades. It can also make them feel tired all the time and cause headaches or stomach aches. In some cases, students might feel so overwhelmed that they don’t want to go to school anymore.

Stress doesn’t just affect students’ health; it also affects their behavior. Some students might become irritable or angry easily, while others might withdraw and stop talking to their friends and family. This can make them feel lonely and even more stressed.

Dealing with Stress

The good news is there are ways to deal with stress. One of the most important things students can do is to manage their time well. This means making a schedule and sticking to it, so they have enough time for study, rest, and play. Taking short breaks while studying can also help to clear the mind and reduce stress.

Talking to someone about how you’re feeling can also make a big difference. This could be a friend, family member, or teacher. They can offer support and advice on how to cope with stress. Additionally, doing things you enjoy, like playing a sport, reading, or listening to music, can help take your mind off stress.

In conclusion, stress is a common issue that many students face. It comes from academic pressure, too much homework, and social issues. Stress can have negative effects on students’ health and behavior, but there are ways to manage it. By organizing their time, taking breaks, and talking to someone about their feelings, students can reduce their stress levels and enjoy their school life more.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

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• Essay on Stress Management
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• Essay on Stress Impact On Health

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Home — Essay Samples — Nursing & Health — Stress — Sources of Stress in Youth

Sources of Stress in Youth

• Categories: Stress Stress Management Youth

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Published: Jan 4, 2019

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Teen Stress: How to Help Them Manage It? Essay

Introduction.

The concept of stress includes a wide range of mental and physical states, the emergence of which can be caused by various factors. The physiologic changes of the body, the first steps are taken in search of the individuality, examinations, and tests in school or college, the pressure from the parent’s side, the issues in the relationships, diffidence, the attraction to the forbidden things and many other reasons can induce stress. Teenagers realize their problems; they talk about them and look for solutions. But teenagers have lack of knowledge and life experience, and they need parents’ help to overcome difficult situations.

Any small thing can cause stress among teenagers, but one of the most common kinds of stress is the academic stress. It happens under the pressure of teachers, parents and even a teenager’s high expectations. Many things are expected: high marks, success in sports or leadership, participation in different kinds of extracurricular events. Often a teenager can’t handle this pressure and can’t find time for relaxation. When it happens, the physical stress caused by tiredness and lack of sleep takes place.

Adolescence is the time of the big changes in the person’s body. Puberty leads to the hormonal storms which have an impact on a teenager’s conscious. In this period the self-image can cause stress. Any inconsistency with the ideal image of oneself, awkwardness, the absence of things, considered to be valuable in a teenager’s community, can be highly stressful.

The pressure also can be put on a teenager by the coevals. Many teenagers start to experiment with drugs and alcohol. A teenager who follows the moral rules, which are established in his family, can feel pressure from the other teenagers condemning him. Sometimes teenagers provoke their coevals or even intimidate them. A person once conceded under this kind of pressure, often hides the indecent acts from the relatives and can have a psychological break and even the intention for suicide.

A growing person states oneself not only among teens but also searches for independence in the family. A teenager’s behavior is often condemned by the parents, who attempt to control their children and to hold them on the secure territory. Thus the stress can be caused by the disappointment provoked by misunderstanding. Parents don’t understand their children’s needs and aspirations and often cannot accept that the child becomes an adult.

As a rule, young men and women in their adolescence encounter the first romantic relationships. The fear of being rejected, the first quarrels, jealousy, rivalry and competition cause an immense tension. At the same time, teenager learns to build new relations with others. Childhood friendship experiences more serious conflicts and usually a teenager cannot deal with these new conflicts right away.

The following reasons can cause stress as well: a moving to another city, the issues in the family, the financial difficulties, high physical and mental loads etc.

The lasting impact of stress on a teenager may lead to serious problems in the adult life. During the period of adolescence, a teenager learns to cope with different kinds of troubles, learns to comprehend his individuality, to build relationships with people of different age. Because of the lack of experience and high emotionality, it may be hard to find answers to all the questions which are many and to resolve the difficult situations, thus the parents’ help and care are crucial for a teenager’s transition to adulthood and independence.

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Stress And Its Effects On Young People (Essay Sample)

Table of Contents

Stress and its effects on young people today

Stress can be defined as any change that triggers emotional, physical, or mental strain. Stress is in fact the body’s natural response to any unpleasant experience that requires one’s attention. People generally believe that stress only affects adults who have bills to pay and families to look after but that’s not at all true.  Children, preteens, teens, and even toddlers experience stress in different forms.

Generally, anything that causes fear and anxiety can cause stress. Usual causes of stress in children and teens include being away from home, moving to a new place, mismanagement of time, and getting along with other peers.

EssayBasics provides essay writing services for both children and students. They provide both long and short essays ranging from 150 words to 500 words and more. Hit the order button right now to get your own plagiarism-free stress and its effect on young people’s essays.

Good Stress vs Bad Stress

This might sound strange but there are both negative and positive effects of stress. Everyone wants to wake up to the sweet smell of roses and bright sunshine without facing a single stressor in life but we all know it’s not possible. While most of the time stress can be devastating it’s also ironic that people feel the most energetic and prolific when they are under pressure.

Well, we all are familiar with what bad stress is and what it can do to us, here are some insights about the positive effects of good stress.

• Experiencing stress from similar situations can train you to deal with those problems like a pro. Thus stress from similar situations makes you stronger.
• Research has shown that moderate stress can boost the brain’s performance. It’s because moderate stress strengthens the connection between neurons which improves attention and memory functions.

Almost all students groan at the mention of homework but for some students, homework is more than just a nuisance. The ones who fail to cope with loads of school work every day fall easy prey to teen stress. According to a recent study which surveyed 4300 students from both public and private schools to help determine the effect of school work on high school students, it was found that:

• Homework is the main cause of ulcers, migraines, sleeplessness, and weight loss in young school-going students.
• 56% of students in the study were of the view that too much schoolwork is the main reason for stress, both in and out of their schools.

While all students may groan at the mention of homework, it may be more than just a nuisance for children and teens who fail to cope with loads of classwork every day. Among all other causes of stress, this essay on stress and its effects on the youth will highlight problems that are caused by excessive schoolwork as it is the biggest cause of teenage stress, stress among youth, and chronic stress.

To better understand the effects of stress we must first learn about its causes through this stress and its effects on youth essay.

Causes of Stress in Children, Teens and University Students

According to the latest research study, 1 in 6 young students experiences stress and anxiety at some point in their lives. These stress effects on youth lead to symptoms of depression. Following are some of the most basic causes of stress in today’s generation.

• Too much schoolwork is by far the most notable cause of stress among youth. Not getting enough time for play and other healthy activities can lead to continued tension.
• Peer pressure and not being accepted in a social circle by friends and relatives also increase stress levels.
• Failing a test, getting a lower grade, or not being able to come up to parents’ expectations can also make young people feel stressed.
• College students who are forced to read many books overwork themselves by studying day and night to come up with academic essays and complete assignments.

School counselor Joy Holt who teaches in Harrisburg, Arkansas, reported that younger kids and children also feel pressured and stressed. Among her elementary students, she sees that young kids are terrified of failing tests. “The little ones also know how important tests are, and they never want to fail,” Joy says in an interview. Even the little kids cry out loud, get sick and even throw up on their booklets when they are stressed , she adds.

Effects of Stress on Youth and University Students

Many young people usually find destructive ways to eliminate stress. With one in 15 teenagers using harmful ways to cope with stress. Experts believe that many college and university students indulge in unhealthy activities to relieve academic stress. Many students usually find a safe haven in one of the following activities to relieve stress:

Stress-Eating

Stress eating is a disorder that almost affects everyone. It’s also a symptom that lets the family members know their kid is continuously going through stressful situations.

Stress eating can lead to weight gain that further leads youth to face critical health problems in life. 

Drugs Usage

Once teens enter high school they are bombarded with challenges of getting good grades, performing well in extracurriculars, and progressing in social life.  Not performing up to expectations lead to physical and mental health problems. In order to suppress the symptoms of depression and anxiety teens often start to abuse drugs to minimize symptoms.

Violence and Aggression

Many adolescents and teens resort to violence and become more aggressive towards their peers, parents, and teachers. They start doing crazy things and even start committing crimes to relieve stress.

Sleeping Problems

Many teens start experiencing sleeping problems because of continued stress. Sleep deprivation adds to their problems and hinders their ability to work to the best of their ability hence leading to serious health problems.

In Some Cases: Suicide!

Continued stress, anxiety, and episodes of extreme depression can stack up leading to cases of suicide. poor coping skills, academic stress, regular drug usage, and lack of support are the main causes of suicide in teenagers.

High Blood Pressure in Young People

Continuously dealing with stressful situations lead to hypertension. Hypertension in teens then leads to heart disease and high blood pressure.

Youth needs to understand that physical and mental well-being is more important than getting good grades. They need to be educated about how to practice good time management, start healthy social relationships, do stress management, and manage work deadlines.

On the other hand, teachers need to understand that the quality of schoolwork assignments matters more than the quantity. They need to know that students can still learn challenging skills even when too much homework is not given to them.

FAQ on Stress and its Effects on Young People Essay

Question 1: how does stress affect the youth.

Excess homework is by far the most common cause of stress among youth. Other common causes of stress among children, teens, and adolescents include being away from home, moving to a new place, time miss management, and trouble getting along with peers.

Q2: What IS stress and its effects?

Any change that triggers emotional, physical, or mental strain can be defined as stress. Stress has both positive and negative effects however the negative ones overwhelm the positive effects.

Q3: What are the main causes of stress for today’s youth?

Fear of being left behind, not being socially accepted by others, failing to cope with loads of homework are common causes of stress among youth.

Q4: How to write an essay on stress among youth?

Start by introducing stress and how it affects youth then discuss its common causes in the body and end the essay by discussing the effects and how to better cope with stressful situations. 

References:

• https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/stress.html
• https://edition.cnn.com/2014/03/21/health/homework-stress/index.html
• https://news.berkeley.edu/2013/04/16/researchers-find-out-why-some-stress-is-good-for-you/