Coping with stress, school and study problems are among the top concerns for young people.

The Mission Australia Youth survey is the largest survey of its kind in Australia and has been undertaken each year since 2002.

While the survey reveals our youth’s view of the potential of life and hopes for the future, it also identifies the pressure they feel and their areas of concern.

Surveying well over 15000 Australians aged 15-19, the survey revealed that what young people value included family relationships, financial security, friendships, getting a job, physical and mental health and school and study satisfaction.

While they believe the biggest issue facing the nation is the economy, when it came to things far more personal the leading issue was, ‘coping with stress, study or school problems’.

40% identified ‘coping with stress’ as the major concern followed by 36.5% ranking ‘school and study problems’.

Jenny Taylor, mum to 15 year old Emily and 17 year old Tom said that exam time in their home was “stressful and exhausting for the entire family.”

“My husband and I tiptoe around the kids when the pressure points hit and we really are at a loss sometimes as to how to help, so trying to stay out of the way appears to be the best way to handle it.  I do feel pretty useless though.”

Psychologist, Elaine Harrington suggests that, “building a routine of consistent effort over a longer period of time is key to handling exam-induced stress and learning vital pieces of information than cramming.”

Red Tick Education agrees that developing good study habits and establishing a routine around weekly commitments is a great way to reduce stress during high pressure times and teaches kids to manage their time better.

“The tools we’ve developed assist students to identify their own learning styles, guide them to set goals, teach them to manage their time and enable them to develop a routine that suits their own individual needs.

Schools are able to customise these tools to further enhance their ethos and communicate expectations.

It’s a great way for schools to partner with their parents and empower them to further assist the student in the home environment.”