ObjectivesAdolescence is a critical period for psychosocial development, often marked by elevated stress levels. The present study examines the role of psychosocial factors as predictors of adolescent stress, with a focus on personality traits, social support, and family health.MethodsA cross-sectional sample of 1,104 school-going adolescents from Telangana, India were analysed. Using the Adolescence Stress Scale and various psychosocial scales, hierarchical multiple regression and path analysis were employed to assess direct and indirect effects of psychosocial variables on stress levels.ResultsKey predictors of stress included ill-health experiences, conscientiousness, emotional instability, and psychosocial support. Together, these factors explained 6 % of the variance in stress. Serial mediation analysis revealed significant indirect effects, where family health and emotional efficacy acted as mediators between psychosocial factors and stress. Emotional instability and frustrative non-reward responsiveness were the strongest predictors of stress.ConclusionsPsychosocial factors play a significant but modest role in adolescent stress, highlighting the need for further research into additional contributors. Interventions targeting family health and emotional regulation may alleviate stress among adolescents

This study aimed to establish the effectiveness of a hypertension knowledge education intervention among Indian adolescents to foster lifestyle changes aimed at preventing hypertension. Methods: The Hypertension Knowledge Test (HKT) was used to assess changes in knowledge using a repeated-measures one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The Healthy Lifestyle Practice Scale for Children and Adolescents (HELIPSCA) indexed healthy lifestyle practices, with paired t-tests used to compare pre- and post-intervention scores. A two-way mixed ANOVA examined changes in healthy lifestyle practices among adolescents divided in terms of early and late stage of development. Results: Significant mean differences were observed in overall hypertension knowledge across four domains: general awareness, lifestyle factors, causes and care, and medication management and across time periods. There was a significant improvement in HELIPSCA scores post-intervention, particularly among early adolescents. Conclusion: The hypertension knowledge intervention examined in this study was effective in establishing a cognitive base among school children, with knowledge retention observed for 3months. Moreover, this knowledge increase was associated with a parallel change in improved healthy lifestyle practices, notably among early adolescents. These findings underscore the importance of providing school-based education programmes early in adolescence to promote awareness of chronic illnesses and encourage healthy lifestyle choices.

The objective of the paper was to develop a comprehensive “Adolescence Stress Scale” and to examine different psychometric issues in the development, initial validation, and standardization of this scale. Method: Exploratory factor analysis was conducted on the data procured from a sample of 634 (11–18 years) school-going adolescents in India. Results: An exploratory analysis provided a 10 factor structure, namely, major loss induced stress, enforcement or conflict induced stress, phobic stress, interpersonal conflict induced stress, punishment induced stress, illness and injury induced stress, performance stress, imposition induced stress, insecurity induced stress, unhealthy environment induced stress. The 10 oblique factor solutions are found to be interrelated and interdependent with good indices of internal consistency, and content validity. Conclusions: This scale development is a novel and powerful measure that taps onto various aspects of stress experienced by school-going adolescents. The scale can facilitate researchers, clinicians, and teachers to identify and quantify the significant sources of stress in adolescents in school, or clinic settings.