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. 2022;45(3):277-291.
doi: 10.1007/s43494-022-00079-1. Epub 2022 Jul 14.

Addressing Adolescent Stress in School: Perceptions of a High School Wellness Center

Malka S Moya  1 , Paul Caldarella  1 , Ross A A Larsen  1 , Jared S Warren  1 , Jennifer R Bitton  2 , Paul M Feyereisen  3
Affiliations

Addressing Adolescent Stress in School: Perceptions of a High School Wellness Center

Malka S Moya et al. Educ Treat Children. 2022.

Abstract

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.

Keywords: Adolescence; High school; Stress; Wellness.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of InterestOn behalf of the authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest for the first five authors. The last author has a financial interest in the promotion of school-based wellness centers; however this author was only involved in a consultative role during the study planning stages, and he was not involved in data collection, data analysis, or data interpretation activities, nor was he involved in the write-up of the study results.

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