Carol Whalen, professor of psychology, and her colleagues found that teens recorded being anxious in about 45 percent of their computerized diary entries, much higher than expected. This anxiety, whichalso surprisinglywas equal in boys and girls, led to more prevalent feelings of unhappiness and low self-esteem. Their anxiety caused them to engage in fewer conversations and recreational activities and to eat and smoke more.
To conduct their research, Whalen and her team issued each of 150 high school students a hand-held computer that contained a software program in which the teens recorded their feelings and behavior during the day. The computers turned out to be popular with the students and provided much greater insight into the adolescent mind than traditional questionnaires and interviews.
"The teens' diaries showed us a much greater incidence of anxiety, but they also revealed behavior patterns that had never been observed before," Whalen said. "We were able to see when this anxiety was experienced, where and with whom. This study may help prevent adolescents from starting harmful behaviors like overeating and smoking and may help psychologists and other health care practitioners take better care of their adolescent patients."
Teenagers with the highest levels of anxiety tended to spend more time alone but were less anxious when they did spend time with friends, the researchers found. High-anxiety teens were seven times more likely tha
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Contact: Andrew Porterfield
amporter@uci.edu
949-824-3969
University of California - Irvine
10-Jul-2002