45% of Teens Say They’re Stressed “All the Time," Turn to Online Resources and Apps for Help Says Poll on Stress and Mental Health

San Francisco, Feb. 21, 2018 -- In a recent poll that asked tens of thousands of high school students how often they feel stressed, nearly 45% said “all the time,” citing relationships and teachers as the primary reasons why. “How often are you stressed,” was one of the four questions asked in the stress and mental health awareness poll hosted by the social network After School.

Teens were asked four questions in the stress and mental health poll. Questions included "What are you most likely to do when you're stressed?" and "What resources do you use to help?" Answers were collected from tens of thousands of teens throughout the U.S. Teens were asked four questions in the stress and mental health poll. Questions included "How often are you stressed?" and "what stresses you out the most?" Answers were collected from tens of thousands of teens throughout the U.S.

When asked what resources they use to help manage their stress, teens responded that online apps and resources were their most likely source of help (44.04%), while only 2.54% utilize resources made available by the school. 

The poll, created to raise teens’ awareness of mental health issues and available resources, was developed as part of After School’s annual Social Media Safety in Schools conference.  The event, held January 17 in San Francisco, brought together 50 students, mental health experts, and social media company representatives to explore ways to use technology to help reduce suicide rates and improve teen mental health.

During the event, Lydian Academy Principal Jonathan Frecceri, M.A., LMFT stressed the importance of involving teens in the efforts to prevent suicide and help them better manage their mental health. “We need to bring the students into the mix. It’s their voice. They really have the most power to change these cultural norms around mental health and suicide.”

The poll was taken by 35,878 teens spread throughout the United States. Questions asked included:

• How often are you stressed?
• What stresses you out the most?
• What are you most likely to do when you’re stressed?
• What resources do you use to help?

The results show that today’s teenagers view stress as a major component of their lives, and the ways they seek to cope with the stress differ from prior generations. Other observations from the poll results include:

• 44.88% of teens feel stressed “all the time,” compared to just 12.18% who are “rarely” stressed, and 6.3% who are “never” stressed.
• Relationships (27.22%) and teachers (24.55%) were the most popular answers to “what stresses you out the most,” followed by  parents (13.46%), college (9.47%), and friends (4.21%).

• Most teens seek to cope with stress by talking to friends (22.43%), while the fewest turn to drugs or drinking (10.79%).
• Nearly twice as many teens responded that they are likely to turn to eating to cope with stress (19.65%) than turn to drugs or alcohol (10.79%).
• Over one-third of teens (34.53%) responded that they do “nothing” to try to manage their stress.
• Only 2.54% of teens said they use school resources to help them manage stress.

For complete statistics, visit After School’s Poll page. To inquire about hosting a poll with After School, please contact [email protected].  

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0226a4b1-7d55-4770-8646-b10fb0d77095

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/5f612f44-76dc-42ff-8943-d440e483e00c

Attachments:

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2527aee0-05ca-46a3-bb24-f8ec9b9c1603

Jeff Collins
After School
925-768-5464
[email protected]