The impact of adolescent concerns on their academic stress

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the contributing role of the different aspects of adolescent concerns on the academic stress of youths in Singapore. Data was obtained using two self‐report measures: the Adolescent Concerns Measure and the Academic Expectations Stress Inventory. The study examined four different aspects of adolescent concerns namely: family, personal, peer and school concerns. Gender differences were also explored in terms of these predictions as well as the academic stress experienced by the adolescents. Results obtained showed that only the scores on the Personal Concerns subscale were positively associated with the academic stress arising from self and other expectations, in both adolescent boys and girls. For the girls, school‐related concerns were also predictive of academic stress arising from other expectations. They also obtained significantly higher scores on the Academic Expectations Stress Inventory than boys did. Possible explanations for the obtained results were suggested and implications of the findings were also discussed.

Keywords:

• adolescent concerns
• academic stress
• gender