High school students told about the severe stress before the exam

More than a third of Russian high school students preparing for the Unified State Exam experience severe stress due to exams. Such data was obtained in a joint study of the psychological platform Alter and Yandex Textbook, which were reviewed by Izvestia on June 9.

According to the survey, 39% of students in grades 10-11 rate their stress level as high (4-5 points out of 5). At the same time, girls worry much more — 54% of them reported serious stress compared to 25% of boys.

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Teachers are also offered to provide meals during state examinations at the expense of the budget.

91% of respondents named their own expectations as the main source of their worries. 39% of students are concerned about the complexity of the educational material, while 21% are concerned about parental pressure.

"The study shows that the main source of stress is internal. But teenagers' high expectations are formed under the influence of family, school and social environment," explained Anastasia Chertkova, clinical psychologist at Alter.

Fatigue (62%), sleep problems (55%) and headaches (38%) are the leading physical manifestations of stress. Girls additionally report nausea (33%) and abdominal pain (25%).

To combat stress, 67% of teenagers listen to music, more than half chat with friends or sleep. Boys prefer sports (51%) and computer games (43%), while girls prefer social media (33%).

41% of the respondents would like more support from their parents. In the open responses, the students asked adults to "not push", "support regardless of the results" and "just be there".

"The words "I'm here" and "you can handle it" help teenagers get through this difficult period," Chertkova emphasized.

Earlier, on May 22, teacher Victoria Podsukhina, head of the regional department of the educational company MAXIMUM Education, told Izvestia that if a graduate did not score the minimum points for obtaining a certificate — 24 out of 100 in Russian and 3 out of 5 in basic mathematics — then he would be given another chance on the reserve days of the main period from 16 until June 23rd.