By Myra Jennings, Child & Adolescent Clinical & Counselling Psychologist
Over the past few years, I have seen a noticeable increase in the number of teenagers struggling to attend school due to anxiety and emotional overwhelm.
Parents often tell me:
“My child used to cope, but suddenly school feels impossible.”
For many families, this change feels confusing and frightening. A young person who previously managed school reasonably well may suddenly begin experiencing panic, emotional shutdown, or overwhelming anxiety about attending.
While every young person’s experience is unique, research and clinical experience suggest that several broader factors are contributing to rising levels of anxiety among adolescents.
Understanding these factors can help parents respond with compassion and practical support.
Rising Anxiety in Adolescence
Adolescence has always been a period of significant emotional and developmental change. However, research suggests that anxiety among young people has increased globally in recent decades.
Large international studies estimate that around one in three adolescents will experience an anxiety disorder at some point, making anxiety one of the most common mental health difficulties affecting young people (Merikangas et al., 2010).
In Australia, youth mental health services have also reported increasing demand for support related to anxiety, stress, and emotional wellbeing.
For many teenagers, school becomes the environment where these pressures are most visible. Academic demands, peer relationships, and developmental challenges all converge within the school setting.
When anxiety begins to build, school is often where young people feel it most intensely.
The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
One of the most significant disruptions to schooling in recent years was the COVID-19 pandemic.
Extended periods of remote learning, social isolation, and uncertainty had a profound impact on many young people’s emotional wellbeing.
Research examining the mental health effects of the pandemic has found increased levels of anxiety and psychological distress among adolescents worldwide (Racine et al., 2021).
For some teenagers, returning to school after extended periods at home was particularly challenging. They needed to readjust to social interaction, classroom environments, academic expectations, and daily routines.
While many students adapted over time, for others the disruption intensified existing vulnerabilities such as anxiety, learning difficulties, or social stress.
Increasing Academic Pressure
Many teenagers today describe feeling intense pressure to succeed academically.
Students often talk about feeling that their future depends heavily on their school performance, exam results, or university pathways.
For some young people, this pressure can lead to patterns such as:
- perfectionism
- fear of failure
- anxiety about falling behind
- avoidance of situations where they might struggle.
Research has shown that academic stress and high performance expectations are associated with increased anxiety and emotional distress among adolescents (Pascoe et al., 2020).
In my work with teenagers, I frequently see capable and conscientious students who place extremely high expectations on themselves. When these expectations feel impossible to meet, school can begin to feel overwhelming.
Social Pressures During Adolescence
School is not only an academic environment — it is also an intensely social one.
Teenagers are navigating friendships, identity development, belonging, and peer relationships at a time when social acceptance feels particularly important.
Research consistently shows that experiences such as bullying and peer conflict are strongly associated with anxiety and emotional distress in young people (Arseneault, 2018).
Social stressors may include:
- bullying
- friendship conflicts
- social exclusion
- fear of embarrassment or judgement.
Even subtle social challenges can significantly affect teenagers who are already feeling vulnerable or anxious.
Neurodivergence and School Environments
Many of the teenagers I support who experience school attendance difficulties are neurodivergent.
Autistic young people and those with ADHD often experience school environments as particularly demanding due to factors such as:
- sensory overload
- complex social expectations
- executive functioning challenges
- the pressure to mask differences in order to fit in.
Research has shown that autistic students are significantly more likely to experience school attendance difficulties, often due to anxiety and environmental stressors within school settings (Adams, Clark & Simpson, 2020).
Increasing awareness of neurodiversity is helping families and educators better understand why traditional school environments can be challenging for some young people.
Digital Life and Sleep Disruption
Sleep difficulties are another factor affecting many teenagers.
Adolescence naturally involves changes in sleep patterns, often leading to later sleep times and difficulty waking early for school.
However, sleep disruption can be worsened by:
- increased screen time
- social media use late at night
- academic stress.
Research has shown that sleep deprivation in adolescents is strongly associated with increased anxiety, emotional dysregulation, and reduced coping capacity (Short et al., 2013).
When teenagers are sleep-deprived, everyday challenges — including attending school — can feel much harder to manage.
When Anxiety Begins to Affect School Attendance
When anxiety builds over time, some teenagers reach a point where attending school begins to feel extremely difficult.
Young people may experience:
- panic attacks
- nausea or headaches before school
- emotional shutdown
- difficulty leaving the house.
For families, this can be incredibly stressful and confusing.
However, these reactions are usually signs that the young person’s nervous system is overwhelmed rather than unwilling.
Understanding this distinction is often the first step in supporting recovery.
What This Means for Parents
The increase in school-related anxiety does not mean that teenagers today are less resilient than previous generations.
Instead, many young people are navigating a complex combination of social, academic, and environmental pressures.
When teenagers struggle with school attendance, it is often a signal that something in their environment or emotional world needs attention and support.
With the right support — including understanding from parents, schools, and mental health professionals — many young people are able to rebuild confidence and gradually re-engage with learning.
References
Adams, D., Clark, M., & Simpson, K. (2020). The relationship between anxiety and the school experiences of autistic children and adolescents. Autism Research, 13(10), 1797–1806.
Arseneault, L. (2018). Annual Research Review: The persistent and pervasive impact of being bullied in childhood and adolescence. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59(4), 405–421.
Merikangas, K. R., et al. (2010). Lifetime prevalence of mental disorders in U.S. adolescents. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(10), 980–989.
Pascoe, M. C., Hetrick, S. E., & Parker, A. G. (2020). The impact of stress on students in secondary school and higher education. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 25(1), 104–112.
Racine, N., et al. (2021). Global prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents during COVID-19: A meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 175(11), 1142–1150.
Short, M. A., Gradisar, M., Gill, J., & Camfferman, D. (2013). Identifying adolescent sleep problems. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 17(6), 457–464.