November 27, Srinagar: According to research from the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (IMHANS) in Srinagar, at least 60–65% of teenagers in Kashmir who attend school experience stress connected to their academics.
The research evaluated the mental health of students in 16 schools in Srinagar and Ganderbal, including eight government schools and eight private schools. It was named “Prevalence of psychiatric morbidity among school-going adolescents in the age group of 13–19 years.”
The study’s conclusions show that kids in the ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grades are facing an alarming trend of academic stress, and a significant portion of them are dealing with mental health problems, including anxiety and despair.
Of the 97 pupils with any kind of mental illness, five fifths were male, and 70% fell between the ages of 13 and 16. Nearly 43% had a middling socioeconomic standing, while 52% were from rural regions. Of these, 26% had a family history of any kind of mental illness, and 54% attended private schools.
In addition to these, among the students, there were 13.7% who had depression, 4.0% who had OCD, 1.4% who had panic disorder, 2.5% who engaged in self-harming behavior, 2.5% who had generalized anxiety disorder, 2.2% who had social anxiety disorder, 1.7% who had dysthymia, and 0.8% who had adjustment disorder.
Greater Kashmir was informed by Dr. Ubaid Rasool, Consultant, Psychiatry, IMHANS-K, that the students were often exposed to relationship problems, gender role stress, and societal difficulties.
Notably, women experienced stress associated with gender roles, especially when it came to household duties. The fast urbanization and industrialization of the area caused social isolation and time restrictions for parents, which had an impact on pupils’ mental health, he said.
According to Dr. Rasool, resolving these problems is urgent. “To create a supportive environment for youth, a comprehensive approach involving educators, legislators, and mental health professionals is necessary,” he said.
According to Dr. Yasir Hassan, an IMHANS professor, psychological problems like sadness, anxiety, and self-harming behavior are quite common among school-age adolescents. “As educators and parents, we must be concerned about the serious harm that the intense academic pressure is causing to young people’s mental health,” he said.
At a time when kids ought to be forming their sense of self and confidence, he stated that these alarming figures indicate a structural problem with the way education is delivered and assessed within the educational system.
“The significance of tuition culture and family aspirations for academic achievement cannot be overlooked, even though competition and a demanding curriculum are important considerations. It is imperative that we have candid discussions about family expectations, school counselor preparation, student workloads, and assessment procedures going ahead.
Dr. Yasir said that schools must take proactive measures to monitor students’ mental health, provide easily available counseling, teach stress management techniques, and actively support possibilities for non-academic development as part of a multifaceted approach.
Yasir Hassan Rather, Burhan Bashir Lone, Fazle Roub Bhat, Athiya Fahiem Khan, Majid Shafi, Neelofar Younis, Ubaid Rasool, and Sabah Younis performed the research.
