The Effect of Stress on Impulsivity Levels in Adolescents

Overview

Objectives/Goals The objective of this study was to learn about whether or not students who were stressed, whether it be about money or school, would also have higher delay discounting rates, or impulsivity levels. Methods/Materials A two part questionnaire was administered to 49 juniors and seniors at a local high school. The first part of the survey asked the students to rate how stressed they were on a scale of 1-10 when it came to school, GPA, college, etc. The second part of the survey was the Kirby monetary choice assessment (1999), which helped to give students a k-value, or disocunt rate parameter. The higher the k-value, the more impulsive the individual. Results After analyzing the data, a significant Pearson r correlation was found between the students that were stressed, and delay discount rates, or k-values. Therefore, students who claimed to be more stressed in their daily lives also tended to have higher impulsivity levels. Another positive correlation was found between students who were stressed about money and higher k values. Conclusions/Discussion My results supported my hypothesis because students that attested to having more stress in their lives also had higher impulsivity levels. This research is important because similar assessments can be used in real high schools to help students. Since high stress can be linked to being susceptible to high risk behaviors such as substance abuse, knowing which students are at risk is useful. This way, teachers and counselors can reach out to these stressed students and assist them.

Competition history

• CSEF 2015 Behavioral & Social Sciences · Entry S0418

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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