Adolescent perceptions of stress and future expectations

Abstract

Adolescence has been described as a developmental phase marked by challenges, tensions, and uncertainties that can generate stress and lower adolescents' future expectations. This study aims to describe adolescent perceptions of stress and future expectations. It is a mixed-methods study of 17 high school students, selected from a sample of 295 adolescents, aged 14 to 18 years, who are pupils in a private school system in the metropolitan region of Belém do Pará. The Stress Scale for Adolescents was used, in addition to focus groups. The results indicated higher stress levels in female adolescents. The participants who had no stress had good family relationships and well-defined future expectations. However, the adolescents who had stress associated their family context with stressors and had no expectations for the future.