MySpace Survey find 5% of all HSC students have considered suicide

On the eve of the HSC, as year 12 students around the state prepare to sit their final exams, MySpace.com has released the findings of a survey into HSC students‘ stress levels and societal pressures.

Of those surveyed, an alarming 5% of students said that the pressure of the HSC had driven them to consider suicide, 27% had considered giving up and 4% of respondents said they had considered cheating as an alternative to sitting the exams. A number of students also identified faking illness or injury as preferable to sitting their final exams.

The survey, which ran for a week during October, asked 650 MySpace users currently sitting their HSC between the ages of 15-19 a range of questions on topics relating to HSC pressures and stress.

In relation to social pressures:

• 93% of all students expressed that they felt some level of pressure on them to perform.

• 16% of respondents described the pressure on them to perform well as ‘extreme’, 42% described it as ‘strong’ and 35% described it as ‘moderate’, whilst only 4% of respondents said they felt ‘no pressure’ on them to perform well.

• 20% of students identified family as the greatest sources of pressure on them to perform, with individuals identifying themselves as the next greatest source of pressure (19%).

• Only 6% of respondents said that teachers placed the greatest pressure on them to perform and 1% cited the media as the greatest source of pressure.

In relation to stress:

• 91% of respondents felt stressed by their HSC, 32% of respondents described themselves as ‘very stressed’, 17% as ‘extremely stressed’, and 42% as ‘moderately stressed’.

• The most popular tactic to deal with stress was hanging out with friends (14%) whilst going online (5%), sex (4%) and drinking (3%) were other popular student stress relief tactics, with many students also citing smoking and masturbating as effective relaxants.

Despite 88% of respondents saying they felt that society placed too much importance on the HSC and 63% of respondents saying that they didn’t think their HSC result would determine how successful they would be in life, it is clear that the year 12 exams take an annual toll on students’ emotional and mental health.