A new study conducted as part of the Erasmus+ MindnArt project reveals important data on stress levels among students in Bulgaria and other European countries. The main objective of this study, in which Values, Virtues, Integrity Foundation and 90 Secondary Educational School ‘General José de San Martin’, Sofia, actively participated, was to assess the distribution of stress among students and to identify the main factors affecting their mental health.

In the study, it is noticeable that the participation of boys and girls from Bulgaria is uneven compared to other countries. Their participation is almost the same in Slovenia and Spain, while in Bulgaria and Italy, there are more boys. Most of the children from Bulgaria are 9-year-olds, followed by 10-year-olds, and the other age groups are underrepresented.

As in most countries, Bulgaria is no exception to the lack of sufficient public support for families. However, Slovenia stands out in public support for families by various indicators. Most of the children who participated in the study were from traditional families with two parents, while about 30% were from single-parent families. In Bulgaria and the other countries, the majority of the families have only one child. Children with special educational needs (SEN) also participate in the survey and are part of the inclusive education. However, special educators and the families of these children often face different challenges, leading them to seek more funding and resources for schools. The study shows that Bulgaria also lacks children in a vulnerable state - most of them have neither physical nor mental disabilities. As in other countries and Bulgaria, rural areas are not represented in the study- the study lacks multicultural representativeness, with all participants being Bulgarian.

According to the PANAS scale developed by Watson and Clark (1988), Bulgarian students report the highest levels of positive emotions, but also negative emotions. However, only 7% of children in Bulgaria are stressed, which is below the average for all countries in the survey. This is encouraging, but we cannot draw general conclusions for all schools, especially those in less populated areas or in the central areas of large cities.

In Bulgaria, the subject of perception of different and poor management of stereotypes at school is still sensitive. There are schools in which Roma children, as well as those with SEN, to whom other children (without problems) show discriminatory behavior. As it became clear, there is almost no representation in the sample of children with SEN for Bulgaria. For this, general summaries cannot be made for the entire population of students across the country. Several students did not provide data or answered ‘don’t know’ on some of the sociodemographic questions, meaning they might have confused them or the information was inconvenient to share. No definitive conclusion can be drawn, but some of the questions in the survey may have caused stress to children due to confusion or an unwillingness to share personal information. There are places where teachers do not teach civic education and students do not have developed life skills, do not know what stereotypes are and how to manage them, do not have built sensitivity to the different ones, no one taught them emotional competence, communication skills, stress management skills and the formation of defense mechanisms to deal with it. Not to mention that there are schools where tolerance to aggression is too low and often different forms of psychological harassment and verbal aggression are not reported as serious by the local community which can lead to stress in children and damage their psyche – neither teachers understand that this is a problem, nor parents, as well as children. All these factors could paint a completely different picture of stress if other regions and schools of different types with multicultural representativeness were demographically included.

Apparently, in Bulgaria, teachers are not sufficiently prepared to deal with stress among students. Although teachers felt safe providing psychological support (82.4%), they reported high levels of professional stress and burnout. The lack of resources and institutional support further aggravates the situation - for example, there are no teaching aids specialized in teaching adapted material to deal with students' stress. Bulgarian teachers do not know the symptoms of stress and often their reactions are inadequate when they have to help a student who has experienced stress. According to a study conducted by the author Yordan Tankovski (dissertation “Complex assessment of professional stress and counteraction”, 2022, Institute of Neurobiology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences), teachers in Bulgaria have a poor culture of managing their stress. Professional burnout caused by professional stress is common among teachers, and opportunities for its management are limited. The study shows that teachers in Bulgaria have high levels of burnout and low levels of resilience (the ability of a person to recover from stress quickly). Based on the author's experience in conducting numerous trainings with teachers on stress, it becomes clear that Bulgarian teachers are not well aware of providing psychological support to students, are not well aware of their symptoms of professional burnout, and lack effective coping mechanisms.

Although teachers in Bulgaria rarely seek information about stress management, they accept training relatively well when offered to them. However, the topic of stress is often avoided because teachers are not trained on how to talk to students about stress and are afraid of crises. 

The study shows that all target countries have similar problems in terms of student stress. In Bulgaria, students' stress appears to be the lowest, but this is questionable as the survey does not cover a wider range of schools and different segments of the population. 

To deal with these problems, it is necessary to think about the good mental state of the students and take measures now. Teachers need systematic training on stress management and support from school administrations. Sustainable school stress management programs that incorporate holistic approaches and involve parents, should be established. Schools must provide the same opportunities for teachers and students to cope with stress.

Author: Yordan Tankovski