Addressing Adolescent Stress in School: Perceptions of a High School Wellness Center.
A simple wellness room earned praise from every stakeholder group and may cut student stress.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team asked students, parents, and staff at one high school what they thought about a new wellness center. The room had soft lights, beanbags, nature sounds, and sensory toys. They used a short survey to collect opinions.
What they found
Every group liked the room. They said it helped teens feel calmer and less anxious. No one reported harm or misuse.
How this fits with other research
Thomas et al. (2004) mapped school mental-health programs but had no data on outcomes. Moya et al. (2022) adds real stakeholder feedback, moving the field from description to evidence.
McKinlay et al. (2022) heard parents say schools ignore their input and fail autistic students socially. Moya et al. (2022) shows the opposite: when schools invite views, parents give clear thumbs-up.
Paris et al. (2021) found special-ed staff feel burned out. A wellness room could be one low-cost way to support both students and adults under stress.
Why it matters
You can pitch a quiet sensory space to principals even without a big grant. Start with one unused corner, add dim lamps and headphones. Survey students and staff after two weeks. If they like it, you have local data to ask for funds to expand.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
UNLABELLED: Adolescents are often burdened with academic, home, and peer stressors. With adolescent mental health issues and suicide on the rise, administrators have worked with nonprofit organizations and the community to address stress and internalized behavior problems. School-based wellness centers are tranquil rooms with various sensory activities, calming nature scenes, and sounds for relaxation purposes. School-based wellness centers may have behavioral effects by reducing exposure to aversive events and increasing access to positive and negative reinforcers. There has not yet been a formal study of school-based wellness centers published in the literature. In the present study, we used questionnaires to examine the perceptions of 752 students, 124 parents, and 69 school staff of their high school wellness center. Results indicated that stakeholders had positive perceptions of the wellness center. In particular, results implied that stakeholders believed the wellness center contributed to students' academic success, elevation of mood, confidence, and coping skills. Results also suggested that attendance at the wellness center was associated with a decrease in student stress and anxiety, though recommendations for improvements were noted. Implications and limitations of this study are discussed. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s43494-022-00079-1.
Education & treatment of children, 2022 · doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2011.03.001