Psychological stress in schools: teachers seek more support

According to a joint study by the Zurich University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW) and the Social Pediatric Center (SPZ) at Winterthur Cantonal Hospital (KSW), mental stress, illnesses and disorders in children and adolescents have increased significantly in recent decades.

"By the time they reach adulthood, almost half of children and adolescents are more or less directly affected at some point," says co-study leader Kurt Albermann, head physician at the SPC.

A third of teachers feel inexperienced with psychological stress

According to the survey, only a third of teaching and support staff at schools feel experienced in dealing with such stress. For example, teaching staff do not always feel able to correctly assess the problems and deal with them, according to the conclusion of the study by the two institutions, which surveyed around 570 teaching and support staff. Almost all participants had looked after at least one pupil with mental stress in the twelve months prior to the survey.

Co-study leader Julia Dratva from the ZHAW is quoted as saying that uncertainty in dealing with the topic is evident, for example, in disorder-specific topics such as suicidal tendencies, gambling or online addiction, but also in consulting a specialist at the right time.

The final conclusion of the study authors: Schools should increasingly take an open approach to the topic of mental health and integrate it into lessons in the same way as "social learning". In addition, the range of tools, teaching aids and information material should be expanded and support, supervision and quality assurance for self-motivated activities should be provided.

About the Project website The final report of the study can be accessed at

Source: ZHAW