Given the return of the writings, thegraduation exam which will begin on June 22 will be that of the return to “Almost” normality (here’s what the exam will look like). It comes after an anomalous, complicated three-year period, full of burdens, pains, delays in programs and in studying. The impact, in terms of stressit already seems evident: according to research conducted by Skuola.net together with the team of psychologists and psychotherapists ofNational Association Di.Te. (Technological addictions, gaps, cyberbullying) ben 7 out of 10 graduateswhen the final preparation was yet to begin, that is, around the end of May about a month after the first test, they were already experiencing situations of tension and stress.
Stress, in fact. But also anxiety, sleep disturbances, mood swings, use of drugs, bad eating habits and much more: these are the side effects of the conjunction between the almost normal first exam – strongly contested by a large number of students – and the exit from the now three-year pandemic. The survey was carried out on a sample of 1,909 girls and boys who in a few days will have to face the state exam.
The things they will not improve certainly as the appointment approaches. Over 1 in 2 – 51% – are certain that their physical condition will undergo other shocks in the immediate eve of the tests. Many more – 65%, practically 2 out of 3 – say they are convinced that it will worsen further curve of one’s emotional state. Already today, 71% confess they are dealing with severe mood swings due to concern about the three trials. In short, this year’s does not seem like just any exam.
More generally, more than 3 out of 5 report negative impressions – you go from anxiety to anger up to despair and the desire to escape – if you think about those three days of written and oral tests. A picture that, in the case of high school students, it becomes even more precarious, with anxiety and a desire to escape that monopolize the scene. Positive emotions, on the other hand, are rare commodities: tranquility, a “sense of possibility”, the pleasure of facing trials are all feelings that affect less than 1 in 10. A quiet minority.
L’anxiety it is therefore a companion from which it is almost impossible to separate. Over 4 out of 5 young people already know that they will have to deal with it: for 34% she will have a very strong role while for 46% she will be quite present. And 72% think the same anxiety will affect your exam (for 24% “very much”, for 48% “quite”). So, looking forward, more or less the same people (70%) think they will never be ready enough to face the test. With 73% blaming the negative feelings on the outcome of the exam to what they experienced, especially in the school environment, during the pandemic. In short, the reassurances received over the months from the institutions, for example from the Minister of Education Patrizio Bianchi, seem to be of no use.
All this stress load in many cases results in dangerous changes in normal habits or, even worse, in the adoption or aggravation of bad habits. Some examples? Almost 70% are reacting by changing theirs relationship with food: 37% tend to overeat, 31% too little. While about 1 in 2 – 48% – say that they are lately sleeping a lot less usually because of the exams.
Not only that: many students – about 2 out of 5 – to ease the tension admit to resorting to various practices to face the final review in a more efficient way: 38% increased the consumption of coffee40% say it is smoking more than usualanother 40% who is using drugs and supplements to gain more physical and mental energy. Hoping, but not being able to exclude, that things do not add up together. Also because there is no shortage of those, about 1 in 3, who instead have increased the consumption of substances that can have a psychotropic effect, such as alcohol or drugs. And speaking of “distractions”, 1 in 2 noticed that they had increased the time spent on the smartphone for reasons unrelated to study needs.
«These data – he explains Giuseppe Lavenia, psychologist psychotherapist and president of the National Association of Technological Addictions, Gap and Cyberbullying Di.Te. – confirm that investing in children’s mental health is a priority. Unfortunately, once again, the opportunity to return to being ‘authoritative’ adults has been lost. The return to an examination similar to the pre-pandemic period, in fact, it means denying the reality and above all the suffering that the students have also suffered this last year. There are children who have very strong panic attacks, hypochondria and eating disorders have exploded and voluntary social isolation is growing rapidly. And do we want to tell them that this year (and the past!) Have been normal years? Do we want to pretend that everything is fine when we are still in a pandemic and in a war? Do we care about their performance or their mental health? 51% of high school graduates cannot even desire a future, and not wanting means taking away the driving force of life. A boy who does not imagine a future is a depressed and worried boy who will most likely have great difficulty returning to a ‘normal’ life ».
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Source: Vanity Fair
