Asian Education and Development Studies

Academic-related stress among private secondary school students in India

Sibnath Deb Esben Strodl Jiandong Sun

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AEDS
3,2

Academic-related stress among

private secondary school
students in India

118
Received 13 February 2013
Revised 9 July 2013
Accepted 6 January 2014

Sibnath Deb
Department of Applied Psychology, Pondicherry University, Pondicherry, India

Esben Strodl
School of Psychology and Counselling,
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia, and

Jiandong Sun
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School of Public Health and Social Work,

Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of academic stress and exam
anxiety among private secondary school students in India as well as the associations with
socio-economic and study-related factors.
Design/methodology/approach Participants were 400 adolescent students (52 percent male) from
five private secondary schools in Kolkata who were studying in grades 10 and 12. Participants were
selected using a multi-stage sampling technique and were assessed using a study-specific questionnaire.
Findings Findings revealed that 35 and 37 percent reported high or very high levels of academic
stress and exam anxiety respectively. All students reported high levels of academic stress, but those
who had lower grades reported higher levels of stress than those with higher grades. Students who
engaged in extra-curricula activities were more likely to report exam anxiety than those who did not
engage in extra-curricula activities.
Practical implications Private high school students in India report high levels of academic stress
and exam anxiety. As such there is a need to develop effective interventions to help these students
better manage their stress and anxiety.
Originality/value This is the first study the authors are aware of that explores the academic stress
levels of private secondary school students in India. The study identifies factors that may be associated
with the experience of high levels of stress that need to be explored further in future research.
Keywords India, Academic stress, Exam anxiety, Secondary school
Paper type Research paper

Introduction
Secondary students mental health has become a serious public health issue among
researchers, policy makers and authorities of educational institutions worldwide (China
Youth Social Service Center, 2008; Lei et al., 2007; Liu and Tein, 2005; Zhao et al., 2009).
Academic study is a major source of stress among school students worldwide (Brown
et al., 2006; Christie and MacMullin, 1998; Dodds and Lin, 1991; Gallagher and Millar,
1996; Huan et al., 2008; Tang and Westwood, 2007). Verma and Gupta (1990) define
academic stress as mental distress that typically arises from anticipated potential
Asian Education and Development
Studies
Vol. 3 No. 2, 2014
pp. 118-134
r Emerald Group Publishing Limited
2046-3162
DOI 10.1108/AEDS-02-2013-0007

The authors wish to acknowledge their gratitude to all the school authorities for giving
permission for data collection. Students who participated in the study voluntarily and shared
their valuable views and opinions about the issue also deserve special appreciation.

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academic failure. Academic stress is a significant issue among students attending

secondary schools, as it is associated with mental health problems such as depression,
anxiety and suicidal ideation (Anderman, 2002; Ang and Huan, 2006; Bjorkman, 2007;
Field et al., 2001; Kouzma and Kennedy, 2000). The latest available data indicates that
more students in Asian countries such as India, China, Singapore, Korea, Japan and
Chinese Taiwan are the victim of academic stress compared to students from western
countries (Ang et al., 2007; Crystal et al., 1994; Deb et al., 2011; Lee and Larson, 2000;
Lei et al., 2007; Mitra and Deb, 2011; Zhao et al., 2009). This difference in academic stress
might be related to differences in demographics, socio-economic variables, education
systems and the perceived cultural value of education (Ang and Huan, 2006; Bossy, 2000;
Lin and Chen, 1995; Lu, 2008). It is important to better understand the prevalence of
academic stress in Asian secondary schools as well as potential risk factors for academic
stress in this population.
As in other Asian countries, academic stress is high in India. For example,
Chandigarh Arun and Chavan (2009) found that out of 2,402 students, 45.8 percent had
psychological problems, half perceived problems in their role as students, 8.82 percent
students reported that life was a burden and 6 percent reported suicidal ideation.
Similarly, Verma et al. (2002) found a relationship between school demands on the daily
time use and the negative emotional states of Indian students. Also, as in other Asian
countries, there is evidence that depression and anxiety in Indian secondary school
students are associated with an increased risk of maladaptive behaviors such as
suicidal ideation, substance abuse and other behavioral addictions (Manna and Nigesh,
2011). As such, there is a need to better understand the prevalence of academic stress
and the factors associated with academic stress in Indian secondary schools.
One common cause of academic stress in India is the pressure placed upon students
due to the expectations of parents for their child to do well academically (Deb et al.,
2011). This often results in parents encouraging their child to study for a long
periods of time in order to attain high grades or percentages in examinations.
One Kolkata-based study covering students in grades 11 and 12 revealed that nearly
two-thirds (63.5 percent) of the students reported stress because of academic pressure
from their parents with no significant differences across gender, age, grade and
several other personal factors, and over 80 percent reported examination-related
anxiety (Deb et al., 2011). Deb et al. found that the incidence of parental pressure differs
significantly with differences in the educational levels of the parents, mothers
occupation, number of private tutors, and academic performance. Fathers possessing a
lower education level (non-graduates) were found to be more likely to pressurize their
children regarding better academic performance. Similarly, another Kolkata-based
study reported negative effects of parental pressure on mental health (Deb and
Bhattacharya, 2012). In this study, the authors observed parental pressure for better
academic performance in 46.2 percent of the adolescents, and female adolescents
(53.2 percent) experienced more pressure than male adolescents (39 percent). Parental
pressure for better academic performance caused high stress among the adolescents
and had negative effects on emotional adjustment, self-concept and self-confidence
(Deb and Bhattacharya, 2013). Other Indian researchers have also reported similar
associations with Chatterjee and Barman (2011), finding a strong relationship between
emotional problems in Indian secondary school children and parental expectations
for academic success. The results indicated that parental expectations varied with
gender and school grade, with expectations higher for male children and higher grades
in school.

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120

While students experience ongoing daily stress through their interactions with their
parents, a more acute form of academic stress is exam anxiety. Exam or test anxiety
refers to the situation-specific heightened experience of anxiety arising from
performance testing and involves the experiences of worry, emotionality, interference
(i.e. distracting and blocking cognitions that disturb or interrupt performance during
exams), and lack of confidence (Stober, 2004). Deb et al. (2011) found that another
related cause of academic stress in Indian students was exam anxiety, with over
80 percent reporting examination-related anxiety (Deb et al., 2011). While there is good
emerging evidence of these two forms of academic stress in Indian secondary students,
there is a need for more research to better understand the factors associated with the
stress caused by academic parental pressure and exam anxiety. Moreover there is a
particular need to understand these risk factors for students in grades 10 and 12.
The educational system in Indian secondary schools involves major examinations
at the end of each school year, in addition to weekly and monthly examinations and
homework assignments. The outcome of these examinations influences the decision to
promote the student to the next grade. Critical board examinations are held at the end
of the tenth and 12 years. The Grade 10 Board Examination is important because it
determines, to a very large extent, whether a student would get to specialize in his/her
preferred stream of education and this largely impacts on the choice of education
and employment following secondary school, with little flexibility for changing course
in the Indian educational and employment systems. The outcome of the grade 12
examinations influences students admissions to colleges and universities. While this is
the case in most countries, a high population compared with relatively low numbers
of good quality tertiary education facilities produces enormous competition for high
academic results. In addition, in India good academic performance is also attached
to social status, which contributes to academic stress. The pressure of preparation for
examinations has for a long time created a high degree of anxiety in many Indian
students (Raina, 1983). As such, there is particular pressure on Indian secondary
school students in their tenth and 12 years.
It is relevant to mention here that there are two Central Boards in India the Central
Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) and the Indian Council of School Education
and every state has a State Board of Secondary and/or Higher Secondary Education.
Prior to 2009, the Central Boards assessed students after grade 10 in a nationwide
examination graded by the Board. The grade 10 certificate examination marks
statement was mandatory for enrollment into grade 12 at the senior secondary
education level. Since 2009, the Central Boards have made significant changes to the
evaluation and reporting of student progress after examinations in secondary
education. The new system includes a number of exciting changes designed to redirect
a students focus from their ranking and return their attention to their learning gaps.
The changes include: a new marking scheme, a new cumulative grade point average
(GPA), new graders, option board exams, new areas for assessment, and a new
credential the report card/report book. However in spite of these changes, grade 10
is still a stressful period for students, with Mohanty and Sahoo (2011) finding that
Indian students in year 10 experienced more stress than those in year 9. Similarly, there
is evidence that depression, anxiety and stress are higher in Indian board classes, i.e.
grades 10 and 12 as compared to the grades 9 and 11 (Bhasin et al., 2010). The Central
Boards examination after grade 10 has been optional since 2011. There is no difference
between the board-based examination and the school-based examination in terms
of grading. Students taking the board examination after grade 10 are typically either

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those who do not plan to continue to higher secondary education, are changing schools
after grade 10, or simply want the peer assessment. Both exams are based on the
same syllabus, carry the same weight toward the final grade, cover the same types of
questions in terms of question design and difficulty level, and are evaluated on the
basis of the CBSE grading scale. After grade 10, every student enrolled in a Central
Board affiliated school will get the same Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation
Certificate of School Based Assessment that is prepared, printed, and signed by the
Central Boards. This is true whether they take the optional board exam or not and
whether they plan to leave school after grade 10 or continue for admissions to grade 12.
Now the State Boards in every state in India also follow the Central Board system, i.e.,
they also made secondary examinations (grade 10) optional. So far as evaluation and
reporting of student progress after examinations is concerned, there are similarities
between State Boards and Central Boards. However, the curricula of State Boards are
different from Central Boards.
Given these changes there is a need for new research to be conducted to better
understand the prevalence and demographic factors associated with academic stress,
parental academic pressure and exam anxiety as these significant changes have been
implemented. There is some emerging research in this area. For example, Chatterjee
and Barman (2011) still found a strong relationship between emotional problems in
Indian secondary school children and parental expectations for academic success since
the changes in 2009. Their results indicated that parental expectations varied with
gender and school grade, with expectations higher for male children and depending on
the grade the child was in. However in order to devise suitable interventions, more
research is needed in order to better understand the factors associated with the
academic stress, parental academic pressure as well as exam anxiety in grades 10 and
12 Indian students. In addition, as far as we are aware no previous studies have
examined the factors associated with these two forms of academic stress in Indian
private secondary school students. It is likely that these students stress and anxiety
levels may be higher because parents pay higher tuition fees and capitation charges in
the hope that their children will do well academically. The present study therefore
examined the prevalence of academic stress, examination anxiety and academic
stress because of parental pressure in Indian private secondary school students under
State Boards in years 10 and 12, and investigated the associations between a range
of demographic variables and these two forms of academic stress.
Method
Site
The city of Kolkata, formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the state of West Bengal
located in Eastern India with a hinterland of over 220 million residents. The urban
agglomeration of Kolkata itself is home to more than 14 million people, making it Indias
third-largest metropolitan area after Mumbai and Delhi (Census of India, 2011) and the
eighth-largest metropolitan area in the world (United Nations Department of Economic
and Social Affairs, 2005). People from various neighboring states move to Kolkata for
educational, vocational, and employment purposes. Kolkatas schools are administered
by the state government or private, including religious and philanthropic organizations.
The medium of instruction in schools is predominantly Bengali or English and, to
a lesser extent, Hindi and Urdu. Kolkata has nine universities, with numerous affiliated
colleges. The literacy rate in West Bengal (77.1 percent) is slightly higher than that for
India overall (74.04 percent; Census of India, 2011).

Academicrelated stress

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122

Design
This study involved a cross-sectional study of grades 10 and 12 students studying in
private secondary schools in Kolkata city under West Bengal Council for Higher
Secondary Education (State Board).
Participants
The participants were a group of 400 adolescents, 206 males and 194 females,
aged 15-18 years (M 16.08 years, SD 0.98). Out of 400 adolescent students, 216
and 184 were from grades 10 and 12, respectively. Participants were selected using
a two-stage sampling technique such that the final sample was drawn from five
English speaking private secondary schools in Kolkata city. The characteristics of
the participants are shown in Table I.

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Table I.
Demographic
characteristics
of the sample

Total
Gender
Male
Female
Age
15
16
17
18
Father education level
Lower than college degree
Undergraduate
Post graduate
Do not know
Mother education level
Lower than college degree
Undergraduate
Post graduate
Do not know
Father occupation
Business
Service
Unemployed
Do not know
Mother occupation
Business
Service
Housewife
Do not know
Family income level
o 20 K
20-40 K
440 K
Do not know
School year
X
XII
Note: N 400. N, number of participants

400

%
100

206
194

51.5
48.5

160
70
153
17

40.0
17.5
38.3
4.3

13
151
213
23

3.3
37.8
53.3
5.8

40
189
145
26

10.0
47.3
36.3
6.5

169
208
1
22

42.3
52.0
0.3
5.5

39
70
290
1

9.8
17.5
72.5
0.3

57
104
180
59

14.3
26.0
45.0
14.8

216
184

54.0
46.0

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Measures
Study-specific questionnaire. The Study-specific questionnaire, developed by
Dr Sibnath Deb et al. (2011), was used to collect information about demographic and
socio-economic backgrounds of the subjects, their perception about academic stress,
stress caused by parental academic pressure, anxiety related to examination,
communication skills, future aspiration, involvement in extra-curricular activities
and academic performance. The questionnaire was reviewed by two experts who gave
feedback on the utility of the questions, the face validity and language of the questions.
There are five sections of the questionnaire:
Section I. Demographic and socio-economic section comprised of six items on issues
like age, gender, education, parents education and occupation, and family income.
Section II. Perception about the stress of adolescents. This section is comprised of
eight questions. One question asked whether the participants feel academic stress
(yes/no), while a second asked the participant to rate their level of academic stress on
a four-point Likert scale (low, moderate, high, very high). Single item questions also
asked whether or not the participants experienced academic pressure from their
parents (yes/no), who the source of this pressure was (mother/father/both), whether the
participants had a private tutor and the number of tutors, whether they experienced
stressed from having too many tutors.
Section III. The anxiety related to examinations section is comprised of three
items on nature and level of examination-related anxiety and perception about
coping strategies. The first question asked, Do you have any anxiety related to
examinations? (yes/no). Participants were also asked to rate on a four-point Likert
scale their level of anxiety during examinations (low, moderate, high and very high),
as well as indicating the strategy they use to manage their examination anxiety.
Section IV. Communication skills and future aspirations. This section is comprised
of three items on proficiency in English and future aspirations.
Section V. Involvement in extra-curricular activities and academic performance.
This section is comprised of four items on the nature of involvement in extra-curricular
activities, reasons for not participating in extra-curricular activities and details of
the latest academic performance.
Procedure
For selecting the sample, a two-stage sampling technique was followed as mentioned
below:
(1)

A group of five higher secondary schools under West Bengal Council for
Higher Secondary Education (State Board) were selected purposively from
the list of schools in Kolkata city, taking geographical spread and medium
of teaching instructions (i.e. English) into account. Out of five schools, three
were co-educational institutions while one was a boys school, and one a school
for girls.

(2)

From three schools, 80 available students during the data collection, 40 from
grade 10 and 40 from grade 12 were covered. It is relevant to mention here
that the average number of students in each class ranged from 40 to 50. If the
number of students in any school in grades 10 and 12 was more than 40, the
study covered all the available students. In the case of two schools, the total
number of students in each class during data collection were 50. Therefore the
researcher collected data from all the students i.e., 100 students each from the

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124

two schools on the basis of voluntary participation. Thus, data were collected
from 440 students.
A prior appointment was made with school authorities from English medium schools
in Kolkata to apprise them of the objectives of the study and to obtain their permission
for data collection. Afterwards, a tentative schedule for data collection were developed
in discussion with the authorities. Data were collected with the voluntary consent of the
adolescent participants.
Results
Sample description
The demographic characteristics of the sample are presented in Table I. There were
206 (51.5 percent) male and 194 (48.5 percent) female students. The age ranged from 15
to 18 years with a mean of 16.07 and a standard deviation (SD) of 0.98. Age and school
year were closely related with the majority (92.6 percent, 213/230) of 15-16 year-olds
at grade 10 and virtually all (98.2 percent, 167/170) of 17-18 year-olds at grade 12.
The educational level of parents in this sample was very high, with 53.3 percent of
fathers and 36.3 percent and mothers holding a postgraduate degree (Table I). Among
368 students with both parents education status available, 107 (33.2 percent) had
both parents and 107 (29.1 percent) had one parent with a postgraduate degree, and
the parents of 139 (37.8 percent) students had an education level of undergraduate
or lower. There were slightly more students with fathers in service occupations than
in business or self-employment (Table I). Most (72.5 percent) participants mothers
were housewives, while a small proportion were in service occupations (17.5 percent) or
business (9.8 percent, Table II).
Academic performance and activities
The proportions of students who had an average scores on their tests of o60, 60-69,
70-79 and X80 were 13.3, 35.3, 29.8 and 21.8 percent, respectively. Combining
the first two categories as low and the last two as high, the proportion of high
grades was significantly higher in male and grade 10 students than their female
and grade 12 counterparts, which was similar across other demographic variables
(Table II).
In terms of English proficiency, the majority (95.8 percent, 383/400) reported that
they were able to communicate their views and opinions properly in English. Only
five (1.3 percent) students considered their proficiency as not clearly and 74
(18.5 percent) as moderately. Most students considered their English proficiency in
communication as clearly (46.5 percent) or very clearly (29.5 percent). We combined
the last two groups as high and others as low proficiency. The proportion of
high proficiency differed significantly between parental education, mothers occupation
and family income levels (Table II). Students whose parents had high educational
levels and those from high income families were more likely to report high English
proficiency. Those whose mothers were housewives were less likely to have high
English proficiency (Table II).
Private tutoring was found to be very common. The vast majority (96.3 percent)
reported having had a tutor in the last year and currently to help them with
their academic learning. This proportion was similar across all demographic
variables except school year. Grade 12 students were more likely to have private
tutor(s) than grade 10 students (Table II). The mean number of tutors was
significantly higher in males and grade 12 students than females and grade 10

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Total
Gender
Male
Female
School year
10
12
Parental educationa
Low
Middle
High
Fathers occupation
Business
Public service
Mothers occupation
Business
Public service
Housewife
Family income level
Low (o40 K)
High (X40 K)

Having
private
tutor(s)
n (%)

Number
of private
tutors
M (SD)

High
academic
grades
n (%)

High
English
proficiency
n (%)

400

206 (51.5)

304 (76.0)

385 (96.3)

3.0 (1.1)

289 (72.3)

206
194

116 (56.3)*
90 (46.4)

151 (73.3)
153 (78.9)

198 (96.1)
187 (96.4)

3.1 (1.1)*
2.8 (1.1)

149 (72.3)
140 (72.2)

216
184

124 (57.4)*
82 (44.6)

158 (73.1)
146 (79.3)

204 (94.4)*
181 (98.4)

2.7 (1.2)***
3.3 (1.0)

150 (69.4)
139 (75.5)

139
107
122

64 (46.0)
59 (55.1)
70 (57.4)

99 (71.2)*
81 (75.7)
105 (86.1)

136 (97.8)
102 (95.3)
118 (96.7)

3.1 (1.1)
2.9 (1.2)
2.9 (1.1)

99 (71.2)**
69 (64.5)
101 (82.8)

169
208

87 (51.5)
108 (51.9)

134 (79.3)
157 (75.5)

162 (95.9)
202 (97.1)

2.9 (1.1)
3.1 (1.1)

138 (81.7)**
137 (65.9)

39
70
290

21 (53.8)
44 (62.9)
140 (48.3)

36 (92.3)**
61 (87.1)
206 (71.0)

37 (94.9)
70 (100.0)
278 (95.9)

2.6 (1.0)
3.0 (0.9)
3.0 (1.2)

34 (87.2)*
56 (80.0)
198 (69.3)

161
180

82 (50.9)
99 (55.0)

107 (66.5)***
153 (85.0)

154 (95.7)
173 (96.1)

3.1 (1.2)*
2.8 (1.1)

107 (66.5)*
137 (76.1)

Extra-curricular
activities
n (%)

Notes: N 400. N, number of participants; M, mean, SD, standard deviation. aFor parental education:
low both parents had a educational level of undergraduate degree or lower; middle one parent had
a postgraduate degree; high both parents had a postgraduate degree. Between-group comparisons
were made using Fisher exact test and impendent t-test or one-way ANOVA (for number of tutors
only). * po0.05; ** po0.01, *** po0.001

students (Table II). Students from relatively poorer families had more tutors than
those from rich families (Table II).
Extra-curricular activities at school, such as games and sports, cultural programs,
national social service and others were also popular, with 72.3 percent of students
having ever been involved. More than one-third (36.5 percent) had attended games
and sports and 28.0 percent had attended culture programs; while only 3.3 percent had
attended national social service. High parental educational level, business occupation
of father or mother and high family income had a significant positive effect on
attending such activities (Table II).
Prevalence of perceived stress, pressure and anxiety related to study
In total, 82 percent (328/400) of students felt stressed to some extent because of
academic pressure. Low, moderate, high and very high levels of stress was reported
by 4.5, 42.5, 30.5 and 4.5 percent of students, respectively. As shown in Table III,
both proportions of students with academic stress were only significantly related to
academic grades, with low grade students being more likely to have higher stress.
Over half (53.0 percent) felt that their parents pressured them for better academic
performance. The proportion was significantly higher among low grade students
(Table III). Additionally, among 385 students who had ever had a tutor, 132

Academicrelated stress

125

Table II.
Academic performance
and activities across
demographic variables
among a sample of
Indian students

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126

Table III.
Perceived academic
stress and pressure
across socio-economic
variables among
a sample of Indian
students

Total
Gender
Male
Female
School year
10
12
Parental educationa
Low
Middle
High
Fathers occupation
Business
Public service
Mothers occupation
Business
Public service
Housewife
Family income level
Low (o40 K)
High (X40 K)
Academic grades
Low
High
English proficiency
Low
High
Private tutors
None
Yes
Extra activities
None
Yes

Academic
stress
n (%)

Stress
score
M (SD)

Parental
pressure
n (%)

Exam anxiety
n (%)

Anxiety
score
M (SD)

400

328 (82.0)

2.0 (1.1)

212 (53.0)

297 (74.3)

1.9 (1.3)

206
194

165 (80.1)
163 (84.0)

2.0 (1.2)
2.0 (1.1)

116 (56.3)
96 (49.5)

156 (75.7)
141 (72.7)

1.9 (1.3)
1.8 (1.3)

216
184

178 (82.4)
150 (81.5)

2.0 (1.1)
2.0 (1.1)

113 (52.3)
99 (53.8)

160 (74.1)
137 (74.5)

1.8 (1.3)
1.9 (1.3)

139
107
122

114 (82.0)
89 (83.2)
97 (79.5)

1.9 (1.1)
1.9 (1.1)
2.0 (1.2)

78 (56.1)
51 (47.7)
65 (53.3)

100 (71.9)
81 (75.7)
94 (77.0)

1.8 (1.3)
1.9 (1.3)
1.9 (1.3)

169
208

139 (82.2)
171 (82.2)

2.0 (1.1)
2.0 (1.1)

84 (49.7)
112 (53.8)

126 (74.6)
158 (76.0)

1.8 (1.3)
1.9 (1.3)

39
70
290

31 (79.5)
54 (77.1)
242 (83.4)

2.0 (1.2)
1.9 (1.2)
2.0 (1.1)

15 (38.5)
35 (50.0)
161 (55.5)

29 (74.4)
54 (77.1)
214 (73.8)

1.8 (1.3)
2.1 (1.3)
1.8 (1.3)

161
180

132 (82.0)
149 (82.8)

2.0 (1.1)
2.0 (1.1)

92 (57.1)
90 (50.0)

117 (72.7)
134 (74.4)

1.9 (1.4)
1.8 (1.3)

194
206

166 (85.6)*
162 (78.6)

2.2 (1.1)**
1.8 (1.1)

114 (58.8)*
98 (47.6)

147 (75.8)
150 (72.8)

1.9 (1.3)
1.8 (1.3)

96
304

82 (85.4)
246 (80.9)

2.1 (1.1)
2.0 (1.1)

57 (59.4)
155 (51.0)

68 (70.8)
229 (75.3)

1.8 (1.4)
1.9 (1.3)

15
385

11 (73.3)
317 (82.3)

1.7 (1.2)
2.0 (1.1)

5 (33.3)
207 (53.8)

12 (80.0)
285 (74.0)

1.9 (1.2)
1.9 (1.3)

111
289

86 (77.5)
242 (83.7)

1.9 (1.2)
2.0 (1.1)

51 (45.9)
161 (55.7)

72 (64.9)**
225 (77.9)

1.7 (1.5)
1.9 (1.2)

Notes: N 400. N, number of participants; M, mean, SD, standard deviation. aFor parental education:
low both parents had a educational level of undergraduate degree or lower; middle one parent had
a postgraduate degree; high both parents had a postgraduate degree. Between-group comparisons
were made using Fisher exact test and impendent t-test or one-way ANOVA (for stress and anxiety
scores). * po0.05; ** po0.01, *** po0.001

(34.3 percent) reported having pressure from their tutor(s) and 114 (29.6 percent)
thought there was no need to have many private tutors.
Three-quarters (74.3 percent) of students reported having anxiety related to
examinations. The proportion of having low, moderate, high and very high anxiety
was 7.3, 30.0, 28.8 and 8.3 percent, respectively. The overall proportion of having
examination anxiety was similar across all demographic and study factors but
attending extra activities, with those who attended activities more likely to report
examination anxiety. After giving each level a score (1-4), a mean score (SD) of 1.9 (1.3)
was obtained. There was no significant difference across all variables (Table III).

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Discussion
An overwhelming number of students (82.4 percent) reported that they felt stressed
because of academic pressure and more than one-third (35.0 percent) experienced high
and very high levels of such stress. Findings of the present study add to a growing
body of literature that Asian students experience high levels of academic stress
(Lee and Larson, 2000; Lei et al., 2007; Sun, 2011; Zhao et al., 2009). However the results
from this study, suggest that the level of academic stress in private secondary school
students in India may be less than that found in some other Asian countries. A recent
multicultural survey (Lei et al., 2007; Zhao et al., 2009) found that Chinese students
have the highest academic pressure among four participating countries. Nearly
90 percent (86.6 percent) of the Chinese participants feel high or very high pressure,
while 69, 74.8 and 67.1 percent of Japanese, Korean and US students perceive the same
(Evening, 2010; Jia, 2010).
While other studies also reported that females usually report more academic-related
stress than males ( Jones and Hattie, 1991; Xie, 2007; Zhao and Yuan, 2006), the present
study only found a non-significant trend for female secondary students to experience
more academic stress compared to male students. One reason previously suggested
for this gender difference is that females are more likely to regard school performance
as very important, and therefore they worry more about academic failure ( Jones
and Hattie, 1991). As such it may be that such gender differences in perception of
importance of school performance are not as strong in Indian private schools.
There was a non-significant trend for academic stress to be more prevalent among
students with mothers who were housewives than students with mothers who worked
in business. As housewife mothers remain at home, it is possible that they may spend
more time supervising their childrens homework and providing more encouragement
to do well. This is an area that we find theoretically interesting and requires further
research and confirmation.
As far as parental pressure is concerned, the results of the present study corroborate
with some of the previous studies carried out in Kolkata, India (Deb et al., 2011; (Deb
and Bhattacharya, 2012). In regard to this issue, some of the previous studies carried
out in China observed similar findings. For example, Chinese students consider high
parental expectation to be the number one source of academic pressure, followed by
self-expectations and peer competition (Lei et al., 2007; Zhao et al., 2009). India, like
China, has the economic advantages and challenges of a large population. In India, out
of the total population of 1.21 billion about 40.4 percent of population are children
(Census of India, 2011). As there are a relatively small number of so called good
secondary schools, there is always a huge competition among children at the entry
level to primary school. In India, economic and social development is under great
pressure and this is keenly felt by the middle class who are under greater stress to hold
their ground, protect their social position and to move ahead (Ganguly-Scrase and
Scrase, 2009). Therefore, insisting that children achieve good academic performance is
a very common phenomenon among parents of middle class families.
The findings of the present study also revealed that 37 percent of students
reported high and very high levels of examination anxiety. Students who engaged in
extra-curricular activities were also more likely to experience exam anxiety, suggesting
that these students may have felt less prepared for their examinations because of the
competing demands of their extra-curricular activities. There was a non-significant
trend for students with high parental education background, no tutors and high
English proficiency to experience more examination anxiety. These are areas that we

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128

find theoretically interesting and require further research and confirmation.

The results however do indicate that the demographic variables included in this
study are not strong risk factors for examination anxiety and that future studies
should explore other variables.
The consequences of school-based anxiety are important. Anxiety is associated
with substantial negative effects on childrens social, emotional and academic success
(Essau et al., 2000) and anxiety leads to school avoidance, decreased problem-solving
abilities, and lower academic achievement (McLoone et al., 2006; Rapee et al., 2005).
As such, it is important for future research to explore interventions for reducing
academic anxiety. It is likely that such interventions will need to target parental
expectations and how parents communicate these expectations to their children.
As far as academic performance is concerned, this has been found to be better in
males especially among grade 10 students. The high grade students are defined in the
present study as those who achieved a mark o70 percent in the last examination.
In this regard, there was a non-significant trend for parental educational level to be
associated with higher grades. Presumably mothers and fathers with higher levels of
education, value education more, and so provide stronger encouragement to their
children to attain higher educational standards. Another observation from the study
is that students with poorer academic performance experience significantly more
academic stress. More than half of the students experienced pressure from parents for
better academic performance especially the students with lower grades. Associations
between low academic grades and academic stress have been reported by some of the
previous studies (Bjorkman, 2007; Li et al., 2007). Bjorkman (2007) found a strong
negative correlation (r 0.42) between total GPA and perceived level of academic
stress among 268 grades 6-8 students in the USA. Among 538 Chinese junior high
school students, Li et al. (2007) found that students with lower grades reported
significantly more academic pressure than those with middle or higher academic
achievement. As such there is a particular need for interventions that target students
with lower academic grades. Again this is likely to involve interventions that assist
parents in providing appropriate communications with their children.
In order to improve the academic performance most of the parents and/or guardians
look for private tutors for their children for additional academic input, which is
common across socio-economic groups in Kolkata as well as across India. That means
that children attend a double educational system, i.e. formal (school classes) and
non-formal (private tutors or coaching centers) after the school hours and/or during
vacation.
The present study also revealed that 96.3 percent of grades 10 and 12 standard
(science) students had private tutors and 42.0 percent had four or more private tutors.
Significantly more grade 12 standard students had more than four private tutors
compared to grade 10 students ( po0.01). As good performance in grade 12 final
examinations is going to ensure admission in preferred stream, parents appoint more
private tutors. More male students had four or more private tutors than their female
counterparts, which shows the special attention parents that pay to male students.
In general, male children tend to receive special care and attention from the parents,
perhaps because of expectation that during their old age parents might get care
and support from their male children. However, some Indian studies have found
a contradictory picture in other geographical locations, i.e., females receive more
attention from their parents (Deb and Bhattacharya, 2012; Deb and Chatterjee, 2008).
Another interesting observation is that parents with low socio-economic backgrounds

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invest more money in appointing more private tutors for better performance. Perhaps
they wish to see that their children lead a better life through good education, which
will in turn bring a change in the family in terms of social status and upliftment of
economic condition of the family.
About one-third of the students with private tutors reported experiencing pressure
for better performance. Having four or more tutors was significantly associated
with high academic stress and examination anxiety. Interestingly, about one-third
(29.6 percent) of the students attending the private tutors feel that there was no need to
have private tutors, but their parents insisted. Excessive workload for attending four
and above private tutors or coaching centers after school may cause more stress and
psychological problems. There is therefore a need to carry out another in-depth study
to find out whether there is any positive relationship between having four or above
private tutors and good performance; if so, what is the proportion of students that
benefitted from, and/or were victimized by, this type of double education system.
In the present study, extra-curricular activities were found to be very popular,
as about two-third of the students (72.3 percent) were involved in games, sports,
cultural programs and so on. Fathers and mothers who work in business-related areas,
appeared to have children who were significantly more involved with extra-curricular
activities. Understandably, families with lower incomes had children who engaged in
fewer extra-curricular activities, presumably due to the extra cost associated with these
activities. Interestingly there was a U-shaped relationship between parental education
and involvement in extra-curricular activities, with the parents who had a middle level
of education having children who engaged in the fewest activities, while parents with
the highest education having children who engaged in the most frequent number of
activities, while the parents with the lowest education having children who engaged in
an intermediate frequency of activities. This finding needs to be replicated and
explored in more detail in future studies. Extra-curricular activities were not found to
be a mitigating factor for academic stress, but were found to be beneficial for
mitigating examination anxiety. In another Kolkata-based study, extra-curricular
activities were also not found to mitigate academic stress (Deb et al., 2011). As such,
extra-curricular activities may be an effective intervention for examination anxiety but
not general academic stress in Indian secondary school students.
Limitations of the study
Given the large numbers of the secondary and higher student population in Kolkata,
the sample size was relatively small. Therefore, caution should be used when
generalizing these findings. Second, responses are based on a study-specific self-report
measure. However, the findings give some idea about prevalence of the academic stress
among secondary and higher secondary students in Kolkata and its association with
parental pressure, number of private tutors and examination-related anxiety.
To further validate the findings, another study with a larger sample is recommended
that utilizes other published measures of stress and anxiety to allow easier comparison
across populations. Another possible limitation is the use of a four-point Likert scale for
rating the level of academic stress and exam anxiety. While there is evidence of some
psychometric advantages of a five-point scale over a four-point Likert scale in western
populations (steras et al., 2008), culture appears to have an impact upon the
psychometric properties of Likert scales. For example, Lee et al. (2002) compared the
psychometric properties of the same questionnaire with four-, five- or seven-item Likert
scales across three different cultural groups. They found that the construct validity of a

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scale tended to be better for Chinese and American populations when there were four
response choices and for the Japanese when there were seven. We are unaware of any
research comparing the psychometric properties of four- vs five- or seven-item Likert
scales for Indian secondary school students and so it is unclear whether this really is a
limitation.

130

Recommendations and implications of the study

The studys findings have many implications for schools. The findings give a clear idea
about the nature of problems students face, and for which teachers should take their
role as sentinels for children very seriously (Sedlak, 1993). Teachers, as well as school
psychologists, have the potential to play a key role in identifying children who are
experiencing academic stress, examination anxiety, and parental pressure and provide
them support in the classroom on a day-to-day basis regarding how to deal with
academic stress and examination anxiety, i.e., studying on regular basis, clarifying the
confusion as and when students face it, developing a study schedule by the students in
consultation with the teachers, and so on.
In addition, school authorities could consider organizing special lectures or
workshops for the parents to inform them about quality parenting with special
reference to supervision of study of the children on regular basis, guiding them with
positive feedback and to not pressurize them for extra-ordinary performance.
There is an urgent need for every school to appoint student counselors
proportionate to students to address various academic and personal issues of the
children. The availability of school psychologists within schools in India, however,
is likely to present some serious challenges. A study conducted approximately 15 years
ago found that counseling services were available in only 9 percent of schools in India
(Bhatnagar, 1997), and a more recent study of school psychology provision in 83
member states of the United Nations found the number of school psychologists in
India was unknown ( Jimerson et al., 2009). It is estimated that in the worlds most
child-populous countries (China, India, and Indonesia), at least 379 million children
have no access to school psychology services ( Jimerson et al., 2009; Ying et al., 2012).
In India, psychologists, including counseling psychologists, tend to work in clinics
and provide support to schools and services for children rather than being located
within school environments where they can deliver key services such as individual
assessments, specific interventions for individuals and groups, training for other
school staff, and promoting mental health and wellness overall. Advocacy is required
for sensitizing the authorities for recruitment of school psychologists or student
counselor in every school.
Conclusion
More than four-fifths of the grades 10 and 12 private secondary students in this study
experience academic stress to some extent, while more than one-third experienced
high and very high level of academic tress. Approximately half of the students in this
study reported experiencing parental pressure for better academic performance.
The proportion was significantly higher among low grade students. The vast majority
of the students (96.3 percent) have had private tutors and 42 percent had four or
more tutors. Having four or more tutors was significantly associated with a higher
percentage of feeling high or very high academic stress and exam anxiety.
Three-quarters of students reported having anxiety related to examinations while
37.0 percent students reported high and very high level of anxiety. The presence of

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stress and anxiety among male and female students across grades 10 and 12 were
found to be similar. Although extra-curricular activities was not found to be a
mitigating factor for academic stress, it was found to be associated with lower
examination anxiety.
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About the authors
Sibnath Deb is a Professor and the Head of the Department of Applied Psychology at the
Pondicherry University in India.
Dr Esben Strodl is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Psychology and Counselling at the
Queensland University of Technology in Australia. Dr Esben Strodl is the corresponding author
and can be contacted at: e.strodl@qut.edu.au
Dr Jiandong Sun is a Post-Doctoral Fellow with the School of Public Health and Social Work
at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

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