School-Related Pressure in Adolescents and its Relationship with Stress: The Moderating Role of Resilience and Optimism

Abstract

A significant increase in school-related pressure among adolescents was found within multiple countries. This is concerning because school-related pressure may lead to stress and negatively affect health and school outcomes. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between school-related pressure and mental health, and if this relationship is mediated by stress. In addition, it was tested whether optimism and resilience moderated the relationship between school-related pressure and stress. The used data was a subsample (n = 6009, Mage = 14.10 SDage = 1.64, 51.4% boys) from the Peilstation research from the Trimbos Institute (2019), which is conducted every four year among 10- to 18-year-old adolescents. Findings showed that school-related pressure was negatively related to mental health, and that this relationship was partly mediated by stress. Optimism and resilience were found to be significant moderators, and weakened the relationship between school-related pressure and stress. This indicates that optimism and resilience should be considered as protective factors against stress caused by school-related pressure and thus against mental health problems.