Investigation of Stress Symptoms among Primary School Children

Experience of chronic stress in children plays an important role in enhancing future physical, mental and social problems. It is very essential and vital that families, teachers and professional groups possess necessary abilities to diagnose stress symptoms in children. According to the statistics of Education Ministry, there were almost 5.5 million primary school students in Iran in 2008-2009. However, there are very limited studies about stress in 7 to 12-year-old children. The present study aimed to review stress symptoms in school-aged children.

In a descriptive study, 839 third to fifth grade students were selected from five randomly chosen districts of Tabriz using random sampling method in the schools. The data were collected by means of children’s stress symptom scale (CSSS) through interviewing by children. Accuracy of translation was checked and content validity and reliability were confirmed using test retest method.

The entire twenty-six items of the questionnaire were reported as stress symptoms. More than half of the study subjects reported worry, fast heart beating, being afraid, chills and feeling sad as their signs of stress. Headache (46.6%) and tiredness (41.8%) were also reported. In examining every stress symptoms, there was a statistically significant correlation between some symptoms with age, grade and type of school.

Children showed a wide range of symptoms in facing with stressful events. Accurate identification of symptoms can inform parents, teachers and professional health staff about physical and mental status of school-aged children and result in interventions to reduce their stress.