Anger without Agency: Exploring the Experiences of Stress in Adolescent Girls

Authors

Elin A. Björling, University of WashingtonFollow
Narayan B. Singh, Seattle Pacific UniversityFollow

Abstract

Although a great deal of research has measured stressful life events and stress-related symptoms in adolescents, little research has qualitatively examined the experience of stress in teens. The purpose of this study was to utilize thematic analysis to explore how teen girls described their experiences of stress. Thirty-one girls, ages 14–18, were recruited for a study examining stress and stress-related symptoms. As part of this study, they participated in an open-ended, qualitative interview about their personal experiences of stress. Themes included the mind of stress, emotionally shutting out others, and “growing out of it.” The overarching finding was that all teen girls described anger in relation to stress. Most concerning was the predominant theme of a lack of agency in relation to affecting change or management of stress in their lives.

Keywords

Stress, Adolescent Health, Adolescence, Thematic Analysis

Author Bio(s)

Elin Björling is a research scientist in Human-Centered Design and Engineering at the University of Washington-Seattle and clinical faculty in Nursing and Healthcare Leadership (Tacoma). She completed a Master’s in Health Psychology from Antioch University – Seattle (1996) and a Ph.D. in Nursing Science at the University of Washington – Seattle (2007). Elin uses her interdisciplinary background to research stress in adolescents using a mixed-method approach including in-depth interviews and Ecological Momentary Assessment. Currently she is working on the development of a social robot designed to gather stress data from adolescents. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: bjorling@uw.edu.

Narayan B. Singh, M.A., is currently a doctoral student in clinical psychology at Seattle Pacific University. He previously completed a Master's in Psychology at Northcentral University in 2014. His research areas include anxiety disorders, stress, Ecological Momentary Assessment, interpersonal dynamics, and moral elevation.

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the 31 adolescent girls who despite their busy schedules and their headaches, agreed to participate in this research. It is because of these participants that we are beginning to better understand the experience of stress in adolescence.

Publication Date

10-4-2017

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2941

Recommended APA Citation

Björling, E. A., & Singh, N. B. (2017). Anger without Agency: Exploring the Experiences of Stress in Adolescent Girls. The Qualitative Report, 22(10), 2583-2599. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2017.2941