Student stress and anxiety may be a result of biological factors, environmental factors and quite often a result of the interactions between the two.
Let's look at the biology.
Urie Bronfenbrenner's Bioecological Systems Model (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006) examines different levels of influence on childhood and adolescent development, beginning with an individual's biological and physiological influences, which is shown as the core of the framework. It is presented in this way to indicate that biological factors play a central role in determining the effects of external, environmental influences on development.
With regard to this, having a general understanding of the biological traits and processes that cause anxiety, may help you better implement strategies promote positive psychological development and wellbeing in your students.
The videos below explains the biological stress response and genetic predispositions to stress.
There is a large body of research which suggests links between anxiety and inherited genetics (Eley, 2003). Furthermore, studies have found children can be up to 7 times more likely to develop an anxiety disorder if their parents have anxiety themselves (Mian, 2010).
In addition, through understanding how the human body works, we may be able to teach students how to take control on their own body, through forming healthy coping mechanisms and stress alleviation techniques that directly respond to the bodies natural physiological responses in times of stress and anxiety. As a result, students may be able to better manage anxiety as a result of environmental stressors.
Environmental factors
In the Bioecological Model, environmental factors include an individual's microsystems (immediate family, school, peers, etc.), as well as, their mesosystem which involves the interactions between these microsystems. The exosystem (more distant influences, such as parents workplace) and macrosystem or culture (Bergin et al., 2018, p. 13) may also need to be considered when determining environmental factors causing anxiety.
One way to classify influences within these systems is through the identification of a child's risk and protective factors. These can help determine things that may be detrimental to a child's development, and additionally, factors that can enhance the likelihood of positive outcomes.
Risk Factors
Environmental risk factors are influences that have a detrimental effect on a child and increase the likelihood of negative outcomes and health problems (Communities That Care [CTC], 2020). Furthermore, students who are vulnerable in multiple areas of development face the strongest effects, where an accumulation of these factors lead to a significant increase in likelihood of unfavourable outcomes. This is a great concern as research found that 11.1 per cent of children were developmentally vulnerable in two or more domains (Bergin et al., 2018, p. 23; Commonwealth of Australia, 2015).
Risk factors may also perpetuate feelings of anxiety, particularly in cases where students may already have a biological predisposition to experience such feelings.
Examples of some risk factors students may face include:
Family: lack of support / family violence / divorce / Parents' level of education
Low socioeconomic status: poverty / neighbourhood disadvantage / unsafe residency or homelessness
Forced migration / unstable living circumstances
Exposure to drugs/alcohol
Abuse or neglect
While it is important to understand the risks children face, it is equally important to be able to identify and capitalise on the protective factors present in a child's life if we are to support them throughout their developmental journey.
Protective Factors Protective factors often act as a 'buffer' to decrease the likelihood of poor outcomes in children at risk (CTC, 2020). Protective factors can help children build their resilience, to adjust to difficult circumstances and thrive despite the adversity they may face.
Examples of protective factors to consider are:
Strong family relationships with caring parents, open communication and acceptance
Strong social connections / social competence / friendship groups
Easy-going temperament and outgoing personality / emotional self-regulation
Community: religion / sports / programs
Positive and supportive school environment / teachers
When supporting a student dealing with anxiety, it may help to acknowledge and amplify the child's protective factors so the effects of risk can be managed. This may include focusing on their personal strengths and making connections with protective factors present in the child's home and community.
Further Reading:
See this blog post to find out how anxiety directly effects the human brain, and how this impacts students.
References
Bergin, C. C., Bergin, D. A., Walker, S., Daniel, G., Fenton, A., & Subban, P. (2018). Child and adolescent development for educators. Cengage.
Bronfenbrenner, U. & Morris, P. A. (2006). The bioecological model of human development. In R. M. Lerner & W. Damon (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology: Theoretical models of human development (6th ed., pp. 793–828). Wiley.
Commonwealth of Australia. (2015). Australian Early Development Census. Commonwealth of Australia. https://www.aedc.gov.au/
Communities That Care. (2015). Risk and Protective Factors. Communities That Care. https://www.communitiesthatcare.org.au/how-it-works/risk-and-protective-factors
Eley, T. C., Bolton, D., O’Connor, T. G., Perrin, S., Smith, P., & Plomin, R. (2003). A twin study of anxiety-related behaviours in pre-school children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 44(7), 945–960. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-7610.00179
Kenworthy, J. (2013). Your Brain on Stress and Anxiety. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmwiJ6ghLIM
Mian, N. D., Wainwright, L., Briggs-Gowan, M. J., & Carter, A. S. (2010). An Ecological Risk Model for Early Childhood Anxiety: The Importance of Early Child Symptoms and Temperament. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 39(4), 501–512. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-010-9476-0
Psych2Go. (2017). Anxiety Is it Inherited? Ft. Shgurr [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSMljGa0VLM
Comments