Exam pressure ranks as a significant but often overlooked driver of mental health problems in young people, according to research highlighted by the Child Mind Institute. Tatum Redmond and Amanda van der Vyver-Anderson from Community Keepers, a South African organization, argue that schools and parents need to recognize academic stress as a legitimate mental health concern.
The conversation, published by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Global Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health at the Child Mind Institute, identifies exam periods as times when adolescent anxiety and depression spike. Students face real neurological responses to high-stakes testing. During exams, their bodies release cortisol and adrenaline at elevated levels, triggering sleep disruption, appetite changes, and concentration problems that feed back into academic performance.
Community Keepers works directly with schools in Stellenbosch to address this gap. Their approach integrates mental health support into school environments rather than treating test anxiety as an individual student weakness. The organization advocates for normalizing conversations about exam stress among teachers, counselors, and families.
Parents often miss warning signs because they interpret exam-related anxiety as motivation rather than distress. A teen who stops eating or isolates themselves during test season needs intervention, not encouragement to study harder. Schools can reduce harm by spreading out major assessments, building study skills into curricula, and training teachers to recognize when pressure crosses into crisis territory.
The research suggests that countries prioritizing exam performance over student wellbeing create long-term mental health consequences. Young people who internalize the message that their worth depends on test scores carry this anxiety into adulthood, affecting college choices, career decisions, and self-esteem.
For families navigating exam season, the takeaway is clear. Talk openly with teens about academic stress. Create realistic expectations. Praise effort over outcomes. Monitor sleep, appetite, and mood changes. If your