VietNamNet Bridge – Recent research shows that Vietnamese students suffering from anxiety and depression has increased in recent years.

A survey by Hoang Cam Tu and fellow workers, conducted in 2007 of 1,727 secondary school students in Hanoi, found that 25.76 percent of the polled students had problems with mental health.

A survey by Nguyen Thi Minh Hang and Nguyen Thi Nga in 2009 found that 20.65 percent of first graders had anxiety at a moderate level, with the main reason being the tests they must face at school.

A recent epidemiology survey by Dang Hoang Minh, Bahr Weiss and Nguyen Cao Minh in 2013 on 1,314 children aged 5-15 in 10 provinces and cities in Vietnam showed that 9.6 percent of children had clinical signs of problems associated with introversion. Of these, 1.8 percent suffered from anxiety and depression, 2.1 percent were introverted and 4.1 percent had the usual complaints.

The survey also found that 16.29 percent of the children had emotional problems.

The surveys all showed a clear increase in the proportion of students with emotional problems, the most common problem.

“Have you ever gathered together and picked quarrels and fights?” was one question raised by the survey team of Pham Van Tu, MA, from the Social Works Faculty of the Hanoi University of Education to secondary school students.

Of the 200 students of the Trung Chinh Secondary School in Luong Tai District of Bac Ninh province, 38.2 percent answered “yes”.

Students said they would be “ringleaders” kicking off fights, or were “involved parties” in the conflicts between groups of students. They joined the fights to follow the classmates, or they got involved, or they became the victims.

At least 34.4 percent of polled students said they deliberately fought others because of different reasons. Many students said they fought classmates just because “they felt that classmates were unwelcome,” or they fought as a measure to forewarn their classmates.

Up to 53 percent of students said they could not forgive the words or the behaviors conducted by other people that hurt them, and 47 percent of students could not keep calm amid others’ provocative behaviors.

12th graders stressed out over uni exams

The survey conducted by a group of lecturers at the Hue City University found that most 12th graders experience stressful days, especially before finals and university entrance exams.

The problem was attributed to students’ time management skills, which were described as “average level”. A lot of students admitted they were bad at “planning”, “setting up priority tasks” and “balancing life”.

About 50 percent of 12th graders said they did not have “to-do lists” for their study, work and entertainment activities. Meanwhile, 20 percent “usually” and 50 percent of students “occasionally” do many things at the same time.

Ngan Anh