Almost Every Second Child in Austria Suffers from Performance Pressure

More than 14,000 children and adolescents were surveyed by the "Mental Health Days" initiative in 138 schools across eight federal states. They reported that performance pressure is a burden for them, with almost half striving for perfection.

Warning Against Perfectionism

Particularly surprising was the number that 49.7 percent of children and adolescents - 9,939 responses were valid - want to be perfect. The initiator of the "Mental Health Days," Golli Marboe, questioned during the presentation of the figures on Thursday whether perfectionism is "poison for the psyche." "Being the best is not sustainable in the long run," said Barbara Haid, President of the Austrian Federal Association for Psychotherapy (ÖBVP). "Because through this striving to be very good, to be perfect, we stabilize our self-esteem." But then other people come into play, and one tries to be just as perfect in their eyes. "Always being the first, that doesn't work out," said Haid. "We are in a vicious circle. Because perfectionism is not attainable for us humans." One must also deal with defeats.

School as the Main Source of Pressure

What causes the most pressure for children and adolescents is school, with 6,163 mentions. Grades are mentioned 551 times. Surprisingly high is also the mention of guardians as a means of pressure (1,174 times). "Very few parents do this with bad intentions," said Haid. Most parents are concerned that their children can grow up well and healthy. "And they often worry that if they don't perform well in school, they simply won't have a good life in the medium term." Parents also unconsciously project unfulfilled wishes, longings, and career opportunities onto their children. Therefore, raising awareness is so important, said the ÖBVP President.

Cell Phone Addiction and Bullying Also as Problems

The teachers also see the increasing pressure to perform among their students and mentioned this problem 727 times out of 2,514 valid responses. Bullying was mentioned 444 times. However, cell phone addiction is seen as much more problematic (1,023 mentions). "I find it not surprising. It is important to look very closely at this issue," said Education Minister Christoph Wiederkehr (NEOS). "Cell phone addiction should be taken as seriously as alcohol or nicotine addiction. But this has long been overlooked and not socially recognized." Therefore, a cell phone-free zone has been established in the school sector. Because cell phone addiction is also related to performance pressure via social media and bullying, according to Wiederkehr. Incidentally, parents also named these three issues among their top 3. "We need to raise awareness (...) and enable a healthy use of cell phones and digital media, as they also offer great added value," said the Education Minister.

More Staff in School Psychology

The "Mental Health Days" are an Austria-wide prevention program to promote mental health. Since its launch in 2022, the action days have taken place in more than 200 schools, reaching 150,000 young people in eight federal states. The project is supported by a scientific advisory board and a newly established youth advisory board. Julia Miklas, a member of the new youth advisory board, wished she had more mental support during her apprenticeship. When a classmate passed away, a school psychologist had to travel to support the young people. For this reason, the nearly 190 positions are now being increased. Because, according to Wiederkehr, one psychologist has to take care of 6,000 students. Over the course of the coming school year, 70 positions are to be added, and another 70 in 2026/27. In addition to more staff in school psychology and school social work, the expansion of prevention programs and mandatory "exit interviews" are planned when school dropout is imminent for children or adolescents.

The vision of the "Mental Health Days" is to have reached all approximately 2,500 secondary schools in Austria by 2030. For this full expansion, about eight million euros are needed annually, appealed initiator Golli Marboe.

(APA/Red)

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