In addition to our online research and our experiences with experts, we decided to get first-hand experiences from students. We interviewed students with questions surrounding anxiety and mental health as high school students. As we have already established our Risk+Protective factors, we wanted to see if they applied to students at our school. To give us a good idea of how students feel about the topic of anxiety, we also sent out an 8-question survey that would allow us to analyze some baseline stats and see if they fit with our factors. Here are the results.
Out of our 93 responses, 43 students said that academic pressure was their main source of anxiety. This fits with our Risk+Protectove factors as we emphasize the importance of not overworking yourself when it comes to school. Our campaign aims to educate students about the importance of caring about your mental health especially when it comes to schoolwork.
According to our survey, an overwhelming 80 out of 93 students have never sought out professional help. This shows that a lot of people are reluctant to seek out help. We cannot stress enough how helpful therapists can be. Through our talks with our mental health consultant Julie Smith and neuroscientist Dr. Jared Horvath, we have learned the importance of professional insight. We understand there is a stigma surrounding therapy, but expert knowledge can truly help.
From our data, a majority of students are comfortable with confiding in their friends and family. This is a good sign, as one of our protective factors is peer support. Confiding in friends and family is an extremely good way to vent and get things off your chest. We encourage this greatly and practice this ourselves.
The Results
The data gathered from our student mental health awareness survey provides valuable insights into the stressors and coping mechanisms within the student body. A significant finding is that 43 out of 93 students cited academic pressure as their primary source of stress, validating our Risk+Protective factors model that emphasizes the importance of avoiding overexertion academically.
The survey also revealed a reluctance to seek professional help, with 80 of 93 students have never sought such support. This highlights the need for educational campaigns to dispel the stigma around therapy and to showcase the benefits of professional assistance for mental health.
In terms of comfort with discussing mental health issues, the majority of students feel comfortable confiding in friends and family, which aligns with our protective factors that advocate for peer support as a beneficial outlet for stress relief.
These findings highlight the effectiveness of the protective measures we promote—self-care to institute a higher self-esteem and peer support to combat loneliness and isolation. The positive impact of these activities on students' mental well-being is evident and encourages us to tailor our content more closely to these protective factors.
Moving forward, we aim to share these results with our community to reinforce the tangible benefits of our initiatives. We hope to reinforce the information we have gained from this survey in our future steps.