Emotional Distress and Negative Automatic Thoughts of Students During Secondary School Education

Abstract

Epidemiološka istraživanja bilježe trend porasta teškoća mentalnog zdravlja kod djece i adolescenata. Cilj istraživanja bio je ispitati emocionalnu uznemirenost i negativne automatske misli učenika tijekom srednjoškolskog obrazovanja.Uključena su 204 sudionika, a podatci su prikupljeni upitnikom CORE-YP i Upitnikom automatskih misli za vrijeme učenja u pet vremenskih točaka. Analizirani su deskriptivni podatci i provedena analiza varijance ponovljenih mjerenja. Nakon prelaska u srednju školu 26,52 % učenika pokazuje povišenu emocionalnu uznemirenost. Pred kraj svake nastavne godine, ovisno o godini obrazovanja, detektira se od 38,07 % do 55,44 % učenika s povišenom emocionalnom uznemirenošću, a za 22,10 % do 26,09 % učenika rezultat je iznimno povišen. Na kraju drugog razreda emocionalna uznemirenost je statistički značajno viša u odnosu na ostale razrede, osim završnoga. Negativne automatske misli i emocionalna uznemirenost visoko su i statistički značajno povezane. Negativne automatske misli povezane sa strahom od neuspjeha i razočaranja roditelja najčešće su na kraju drugog razreda. Učestalost misli povezanih s razočaranjem roditelja tijekom srednje škole opada, dok učestalost misli povezanih s manjkom motivacije za učenje raste. Vrijeme prije završetka drugog razreda srednje škole osobito je rizično za razvoj teškoća mentalnog zdravlja. Stoga upravo tijekom drugog razreda treba realizirati najviše aktivnosti za očuvanje mentalnog zdravlja te provoditi sustavni probir učenika u riziku. Za to mogu koristiti ovdje provjereni upitnici. Dobiveni rezultati sukladni su pretpostavkama kognitivnih modela disfunkcionalnog doživljavanja i ponašanja, u okviru kojih se interpretiraju. / Epidemiological research indicates an increasing trend of mental health difficulties in children and adolescents. The aim of the study was to examine emotional distress and negative automatic thoughts of secondary school students.The study was conducted on a sample of 204 respondents and data were collected by the Young Person's CORE (YP-CORE) questionnaire and the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire during learning at five time points. Descriptive data were analysed and an analysis of variance for repeated measurements was performed. After transferring to secondary school, 26.52% of students showed increased emotional distress. Towards the end of the school year and depending on the year of education, 38.07% to 55.44% of students showed increased emotional distress, whereas 22.10% to 26.09% of students showed exceptionally increased distress. Emotional distress was statistically significantly higher at the end of the second grade than in other grades, except for the final grade. There was a high and statistically significant association between negative automatic thoughts and emotional distress. Negative automatic thoughts associated with the fear of failure and subsequent disappointment of one's parents were most frequently expressed at the end of the second grade.The frequency of thoughts associated with disappointing one's parents during ...

Mental Health of Adolescents before and during the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Psychological distress was observed in 11% of the 15-year-old adolescents in the first grade of high school, while in the third grade, the percentage rose to 23% among 17-year-old adolescents, signifying a notable increase. A similar pattern of increase was identified in aforementioned Croatian research employing the same questionnaire, with rates increasing from 26% in the first grade to 55% in the third grade of high school (17).…”

“…The reliability was also satisfactory across all age groups (14). Other studies also found high reliability of this scale (17).…”

“…Another Croatian study conducted in 2012 ( 16) reported even higher scores at two time points, possibly influenced by factors other than the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, separate research in Croatia conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic reported YP-CORE mean scores ranging from 10.5 to 16.1 across five time points throughout high school education with the peak in the second grade of high-school (17). Increase in the YP-CORE might be related to the age itself, but other authors associated the increase of YP-CORE results during education to the time periods associated with more frequent examinations potentially affecting adolescents' psychological state and to the "educational stressors theory" that links pressure of achieving success in school to the emotional state of adolescents (17).…”

“…The YP-CORE is an instrument designed to measure psychological distress in children and youth (14). It was translated into Croatian and approved according to the CORE System Trust protocol (15,16,17). The questionnaire consists of 10 items that assess anxiety, depression, trauma, physical difficulties, functioning, and the risk of auto-aggressive behavior over the past 7 days.…”