CANBERRA, Oct. 15 (Xinhua) -- As tens of thousands of Australian high school students prepare to take their final school exams later this month, a new study has uncovered that up to 80 percent feel they are unable to share concerns about their exam stress levels with their parents.
On Sunday, youth help organization ReachOut Australia released results of a study of Australian high school students, which found that four in five feel they have to keep their exam stress "bottled up" at this crucial juncture in their lives.
In a media release accompanying the study, ReachOut chief executive Jono Nicholas said it okay for students to share their feelings, while he encouraged parents to talk with their children if there are signs of stress present at exam time.
"Australian parents have done a great job in raising a generation of ambitious, independent young people, with our research showing family pressure is not even in the top three reasons for exam stress," Nicholas said on Sunday.
Nicholas added that while 80 percent was a large proportion, it was little surprise considering the emphasis schools place on exams in the modern world. He said that school pressure, coupled with the fact that final-year exams determine one's university entry score, meant that children were getting stressed quite easily.
"The key for parents is to not take this silent stress personally or see it as a sign of failure," he said.
"Be calm, caring and, most importantly, listen while they do the talking."
"If they don't want to chat, see if there are physical things like chores, travel, and after-school jobs where you can take a bit of pressure off until exams are over."
Australia's final-year school exams take place from later this month and throughout November.
