A Focus Group Interview Study of the Experience of Stress amongst School-Aged Children in Sweden

Warghoff, Alexandra; Persson, Sara; Garmy, Pernilla; Einberg, Eva-Lena

doi:10.3390/ijerph17114021

Cited by 8 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The interview guide has been used previously among 13–15-year-old adolescents [ 5 ] and 10–12-year-old children [ 4 ]. Examples of questions are “What do you think when you hear the word stress?” and “Can you describe situations when stress has been good/bad?” The research project on stress in children and adolescents started before the pandemic.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Adolescents’ Experience of Stress: A Focus Group Interview Study with 16–19-Year-Old Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Perming

Thurn

Garmy

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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The purpose was to investigate stress among adolescents (16–19 years old) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Focus group (n = 9) interviews with students at upper secondary schools (16–19 years old, n = 41) were conducted in southern Sweden during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021. The interviews were analyzed by qualitative content analysis. The analysis revealed five categories of experience of stress: (1) School-related stress, (2) Stress in relationships and leisure, (3) How stress manifests itself, (4) Stress can increase performance, and (5) Experiences of counteracting stress. The adolescents in the study experienced stress linked to school and relationships, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Distance education during the COVID-19 pandemic increased stress levels. The adolescents stated that high stress levels were experienced negatively and impaired their ability to perform, while moderate stress could contribute to achieving goals and improving performance. School nurses and other health professionals who meet with adolescents are important to support adolescents experiencing stress.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Understanding adolescents’ perspectives is important in developing preventive work in school health services. In earlier studies, experiences of stress in early and middle adolescence have been investigated [ 4 , 5 ]. However, little is known about the experience of stress in late adolescence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adolescents’ Experience of Stress: A Focus Group Interview Study with 16–19-Year-Old Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Perming

Thurn

Garmy

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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“…This study is a part of a larger research project ‘Stress, pain, and analgesic use among school‐aged children and adolescents’. Further details of the methodology have been published elsewhere 7 . A semi‐structured interview format 8 was used to provide answers to questions concerning the experience of pain among school‐aged children aged 10‐12 years.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…elsewhere. 7 A semi-structured interview format 8 was used to provide answers to questions concerning the experience of pain among school-aged children aged 10-12 years. Before the recruitment of informants, a research ethics application was approved by the Lund Regional Ethics Review Board (EPN 2018/842).…”

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confidence: 99%

Schoolchildren’s experience of pain—A focus group interview study

et al. 2020

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Aim To explore the experience of pain in 10‐ to 12‐year‐old children. Methods This interview study included students (n = 42) in grade 4‐6 in focus groups (n = 10) in southern Sweden (52% girls); mean age, 11.3 years (range 10‐12 years). The interviews were audio‐recorded and transcribed verbatim and analysed with qualitative content analysis. Results The analysis resulted in one theme: Pain as a unique experience for each individual, which was divided into five categories: (a) Feeling bodily pain; (b) Pain related to the school environment and schoolwork; (c) Internal pain related to sorrow and grief; (d) Pain related to conflicts and remorse; and (e) Pain can be good. Conclusion The children made distinctions between physical pain and emotional pain. Bullying, noisy school environments, grief and remorse were reported to be linked with headaches, stomachache and heartache.

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“…Headaches, abdominal pain, and general pain are also common symptoms. Other symptoms include difficulty falling asleep, concentrating, depression, procrastination, and melancholy ( Warghoff et al, 2020 : Hörbo et al, 2021 ; McKegney, 2021 ). McKegney (2021) reports that isolation, increased anxiety, and avoidance of leisure activities are warning signs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

School nurses’ experiences of health-promoting work to prevent stress in Swedish adolescents

Persson

Rahr²,

Garmy³

et al. 2022

Front. Psychol.

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AimTo investigate school nurses’ experiences of health-promoting work to prevent stress in Swedish adolescents.Materials and methodsSwedish school nurses (n = 225) responded to a web survey with open-ended questions. The results were subjected to a qualitative content analysis.ResultsSix categories were identified from the analysis: (1) Knowledge of body and soul, (2) Identifying stress and ill health, (3) Collaborative working within/outside school, (4) Make yourself (i.e., school nurses) visible to the students, (5) Support students’ learning, and (6) Tools for stress management. One of the most important themes in preventing and counteracting stress in school-aged children and adolescents was promoting healthy living habits. That school nurses were easily accessible and visible were important for them to identify stress as early as possible. The close collaboration with the school health care team and building relationships with the students were emphasized. The stress in adolescents was largely linked to schoolwork and performance anxiety. To counteract this, the dialogue with the teachers was important to increase their knowledge of mental health problems and stress and influence the scheduling of school exams.ConclusionThe study contributes to increased knowledge in the field and provides concrete strategies for how school nurses can work to counteract stress in students.

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A Focus Group Interview Study of the Experience of Stress amongst School-Aged Children in Sweden

Cited by 8 publications

References 32 publications

Adolescents’ Experience of Stress: A Focus Group Interview Study with 16–19-Year-Old Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Adolescents’ Experience of Stress: A Focus Group Interview Study with 16–19-Year-Old Students during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Schoolchildren’s experience of pain—A focus group interview study

School nurses’ experiences of health-promoting work to prevent stress in Swedish adolescents

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