Student Stress Has Soared Fivefold over the Decades

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Byline: Martha Irvine Associated Press

A new study has found five times as many high school and college students are dealing with anxiety and other mental health issues as youth of the same age who were studied in the Great Depression era.

The findings, culled from responses to a popular psychological questionnaire used as far back as 1938, confirm what counselors on campuses nationwide have long suspected as more students struggle with the stresses of school and life in general.

"It's another piece of the puzzle -- that yes, this does seem to be a problem, that there are more young people who report anxiety and depression," says Jean Twenge, a San Diego …