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ERIC Number: EJ690534
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Aug
Pages: 16
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0143-0343
EISSN: N/A
School-Related Stress and Psychosomatic Symptoms among Norwegian Adolescents
Murberg, Terje A.; Bru, Edvin
School Psychology International, v25 n3 p317-332 Aug 2004
This study examines the relationships between school-related stress, gender and psychosomatic symptoms in a sample of 531 adolescent pupils in years (grades) 8, 9 and 10 (aged 13-16 years) from two compulsory schools in Norway. Results showed that 18.1 percent reported being very much affected by at least one of the assessed psychosomatic symptoms. Girls reported significantly more psychosomatic symptoms than did boys. Tests of the dimensionality of the school-related stress that was assessed in the present study showed four main categories: (1) difficulties with peers at school; (2) worries about school achievement; (3) schoolwork pressure and (4) conflicts with parents and/or teachers. Results from multiple regression analyses showed that scores for the different stressors were significantly associated with psychosomatic symptoms. Findings suggest that frequency of psychosomatic symptoms might be related to how well or otherwise pupils adapt to the demands of school and to the interpersonal climate of the school. Gender seems to play a differentiating role here. Girls reported significantly more stress that was related to worries about school achievement, whereas boys reported significantly more stress arising from conflicts with parents and/or teachers. Finally, stress due to difficulties with peers at school was more closely correlated with psychosomatic symptoms among boys than among girls.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 10; Grade 8; Grade 9
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A