Young people say exams are bad for their mental health - and some are turning to alcohol or drugs to cope

• About four out of five young people in a recent mental health service survey say they were negatively impacted by their school exams.
• Nearly 80% were either ‘very’ or ‘moderately’ worried before results day.
• Many respondents also say exams impacted their relationships with friends or family.
• Only one in three knew where to go for help managing exam stress.

A youth charity says there needs to be more support for young Britons during exams and results days, with their research suggesting some are turning to risky coping mechanisms to handle the stress.

Last Thursday (22 August) was GCSE results day for students across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, while the week before was A Level results day. Both can be a source of great trepidation for young people, with their final grades able to potentially have a big impact on their lives and education journey going forward.

The Mix - a UK service that provides free, confidential online mental health support for under 25s - recently surveyed young people who use its service about how they found their most recent exams. Almost four out of every five (79%) told them they had been negatively impacted.

Some 80% of those surveyed said that they experienced panic in the lead up to exams. Almost two in three (65%) said they had negatively impacted their relationship with their family, while 45% felt their friendships had been negatively impacted. The majority of young people (83%) also believed that their exam results would affect their future prospects, and two out of every five (41%) felt that their parents cared more about their results than them.

Before their respective results days, almost half of those surveyed (47%) said they had been ‘very worried’, while a further 30% were ‘moderately worried’. The main concerns for those worried were the fear of failing, and of their grades having an impact on their future career and education prospects. But about 60% feared it making their existing anxiety worse - while a little over half also feared it would affect their self-confidence.

Despite this, only one third of them (32%) said they knew how or where to seek support when they were stressed about their exams. Instead, young people told The Mix they were resorting to a variety of coping mechanisms, including self-harm and alcohol or drug abuse.

‘It was mostly people I see as part of my friendship circle’

One young respondent said that their exam results had a lasting impact on their mental health and social life - one that endured for quite some time. 

“I was always good in physics and used to maintain A to A* averages,” they told The Mix. “But in the last year we got a new teacher, who selected non-typical exam questions for the topic which led to me dropping to an average between A and B.

“This led to an increase in other students being better than me,” they continued. Their classmates then started to compare themselves to them, saying that they were better at physics and had a better grade average than them constantly.

“But not just once after the exams,” they added. “[It went on] for what felt like months and was really hurtful, especially because it was mostly people which I would see as part of my ‘friendship circle’.”

An urgent gap to fill

The Mix says that their findings show there is an immediate and ongoing need for more support and resources dedicated to young people’s wellbeing during the exam season, with 16 to 20 year olds emerging as the most affected group in the survey.

The charity believed this lack of resources coupled with a lack of awareness about where to find the right people or organisations to help manage their stress was the driving factor behind some students seeking out unhealthy coping mechanisms. Even though they said many of their respondents had acknowledged the negative impacts they had on their wellbeing - they felt there was no other option.

CEO Chris Martin added that leaders needed to take young people’s concerns seriously, and make sure this support was in place. “Young people are the future of our society. It’s imperative that the future government listens to their concerns and acts accordingly.”

The newly-elected Labour government has already expressed its commitment to young people’s mental health. Among its many education-focused election pledges is a promise to introduce specialist mental health support into every school.

If you or a young person you know is struggling with stress or anxiety about their exam results, they can reach out for free, confidential support on The Mix website here.

The government has also issued some advice for parents and carers supporting students as they receive and process their exam results. This can often be a tense and emotionally fraught time, especially if things don’t go as expected. You can check this advice out online here.