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Se Rin Lee
10/19/2015
Period 2
The Problem of the Generation: The Rising Level of Anxiety in Teens
Research Question:
What is the correlation between the rising level of anxiety among high school students and the
intensity of the workload presented to them/ the conditions in educational facilities?
Hypothesis:
The constraining, highly competitive nature and the considerable workload presented to high
school students are catalysts towards the increasing level of anxiety among high school students
within the past decade.
Background/ History of the Issue:
Anxiety levels have been rising steadily, and have recently been spiking up throughout the past
couple of decades. Students nowadays have the same level of anxiety as patients in the 1950s. A
graph provided by the American Psychological Association showed that anxiety levels increased
9% from 2007 to 2013, with 37% of college students reporting anxiety symptoms on college
counseling campuses in 2007, to 46% in 2013. It shows an exponential increase while other
concerns, such as depression and relationship problems stayed at a constant rate from 2007 to
2013, with the percentage of students reporting depression as a main concern staying at a
constant 39%, while relationship concerns stabilized at 36% throughout. Education has also
become a priority in our nation with the implementation of the Common Core, and increased
standardized testing. The mental illness crisis has long been a problem since the
deinstitutionalization era of 1960, but instead of distant mental facilities, it has slowly crept
into our local schools and former students.
Rationale:

The fact that the levels of anxiety among high school students in this generation is equivalent to
those of mental asylum patients in the 1950s poses an obvious warning that something is wrong.
School may be a key factor that contributes to this exponential elevation of the mental distress
crisis. The physical layout, the scheduling, and the mental strenuation may all account for this
increase. The increasing level of anxiety must be combatted because if left unhandled, it will
continue to increase, negatively affecting several generations. A specific example that shows the
strenuous effects of education on mental health is South Korea. It has the highest suicide rate
globally and a contributing factor may be the intense, scrutinizing school system. Students are
pressed to attend regular public school, and often proceed with hours upon hours of academy
work in various school subjects. The average student may spend over 12 hours per day devoted
to school work. This is an example of an extreme consequence, and we must work to combat this
rising problem. There is greater emphasis on education than ever before, and with an enlarging
prospect, there must be an advocate for defined measures to assure the mental health of students.
We must start raising awareness and implementing practical methods.
Basis of Hypothesis:
There are many different aspects that can account for this cause, but the reason that I am looking
specifically into the educational aspect is due to various reasons. Students spend an average of 710 hours per day five days a week in school, accounting for approximately 25-35% of their
week, purely just spent in school facilities. Students spend extended time outside of school
devoted to homework, an average of 3.5 hours. Clearly, students spend a significant portion of
their time located in educational facilities. Personally, I have both experienced firsthand and
observed and confirmed with my peers the negative effects that school has on the levels of
anxiety. Specific examples are longer block periods, such as fourth period, when students are

forced to sit for an hour at a time, students show greater signs of being anxious through body
language. I also focused the project towards high school students due to the fact that I will have
direct access to primary data, and also because high school students are faced with tremendous
pressure while preparing for college. Literature research findings have supported my hypothesis
in stating that the level of anxiety has increased among students with greater pressure being
faced towards them on the road to college. It has also provided evidence and statistics that
project high levels of anxiety.
Operational Definitions:
-

Anxiety Levels: This term is applied in two ways. It refers to the general

sensation of feeling anxious, as well mental illnesses [generalized anxiety disorder,

obsessive-compulsive disorder, panic disorder (anxiety attacks), phobia, post-traumatic
stress disorder, and social anxiety disorder] The symptoms listed will be categorized in
two distinct ways when gathering data: standard anxiety and clinical anxiety.
- Conditions in Educational Facilities: This will serve as a broad term that accounts
for many different aspects of high schools such as elongated periods, availability of
windows, compact classes vs. sizable classes, density of students in a given class, high
pressure standardized tests, etc.
Descriptors Used for Literature Search:
-

Increase in anxiety levels

Anxiety levels of facility patients in the 1950s
Conditions in educational facilities
Stress level of students
Students mental health