Children stressed by parents' stress

[lark descending]

Researchers found that career disillusionment felt by mothers and fathers can be "contagious", leading their offspring to lose interest in schoolwork.

Parents’ negative attitudes can cause youngsters to fear they are falling behind their classmates and become exhausted, experts claim.

The problem may be rising amid the recession, the study’s authors warned.

Researchers questioned more than 500 teenagers about whether they had ever experienced burnout. Symptoms include tiredness, a sense of inadequacy as a student and cynicism about the value of schooling.

Their parents were asked similar questions about work-related stress and a pattern quickly emerged.

The parents worn out physically and emotionally were more likely to have children suffering similar problems at school, the European Journal of Developmental Psychology reports.



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This should hardly come as a surprise - but perhaps we should give higher priority to reducing stress in adults!

[jamesjosh]

Unfortunately, if we did reduce in unwanted stress our society would be very different from the one we know and love so well.

[admin]

....and what about parents stressed by childrens' stress....

[Jade]

Its a bit trendy isn't it - to say "I am stressed out" when in fact what they mean is that they are a tiny bit knacked

If asked, I would often admit to being tired but would shy away from saying I could not cope with the stuff life throws at me

Shows the need to make sure that when doing research the terms being used are thoroughly understood by both the researcher and the interviewee.

And yes, if kids see their parents basically giviing up on any challenge and taking to their beds with a fit of the vapours (and getting away with it) they might think of doing the same whenever they want to get out of taking responsibility

I doubt anyone here is talking about actual stress - the sort that leaves you hurt and scarred.