School stress affected by gender

Boys react differently to girls when it comes to dealing with stress at school, according to a study by the Academy of Finland.

The results reveal that although male students are often enthusiastic when they first begin secondary school, their interest wanes over time.

According to the leader of the study, Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro, boys run a greater risk of exclusion as they often become cynical and restless because their schools fail to provide enough stimuli for them. These feelings are apparently not experienced to such an extent with girls.

“The school doesn’t always offer appropriate challenges, so the boys suffer from a growing school workload and begin to direct their interest in other directions,” Salmela-Aro said in a YLE report.

Girls however, often become depressed due to feelings of inadequacy, according to Salmela-Aro.
“The school’s main task is to get the message across that it is fun to learn new things, and that effect can carry one far in life,” she told YLE.