Profile of stress among a group of female school children in their early adolescence in the Galle educational zone; a descriptive cross sectional study

Introduction: Age ranging from 11 to 14 years is regarded as early adolescence. Females are p vulnerable to experience stress with rapid physical, psychological, cognitive and social changes accompanied in adolescence. Stress experienced in adolescence is linked with a range of adverse physical and psychological consequences. The study aimed to determine the level of stress and factors contributing to stress among female adolescents in the Galle educational zone, Sri Lanka. Methods: A school based cross - sectional study was conducted on female adolescents (11 - 14 years, n = 218). A self-administered socio-demographic questionnaire and psychosocial adversity scale were used to assess socioeconomic status and psychosocial adversities respectively. The Body Mass Index (BMI), waist hip ratio (WHR), waist height ratio (WHtR) and fat percentage (FM%) were calculated to assess the nutritional status. Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ), which measures 9 dimensions of stress, was used to assess stress. Results: Normal nutritional status was observed in 118 (54.1%) while 65 (29.8%) and 35(16.1%) adolescents were underweight and overweight respectively. A majority of adolescents (n = 158, 72.9%) were experiencing stress. An increased stress levels were observed for the domains of school attendance (n = 203, 93.1%), future uncertainty (n = 202, 92.7%), school performance (n = 185, 84.9%), emerging responsibility (n = 186, 85.3%), and conflict of school/leisure time (n = 178, 81.7%). Conclusions: Most adolescents considered future uncertainty and school attendance as the greatest stress inducing factors. Urgent measures to decrease stress levels amongst these adolescents need to be implemented.