Impact of Anxiety on Teenagers' Behavior, Performance: A Study

This report presents a comprehensive examination of the impact of anxiety on teenagers' behavior and performance, focusing on a study conducted within the NHS framework. The introduction establishes anxiety as a prevalent issue affecting teenagers, outlining the study's aim to explore its effects on behavior and performance. The literature review delves into various themes, including understanding anxiety, evaluating its causes (such as genetics, stressful situations, and family dynamics), identifying challenges faced by anxious teenagers (social difficulties, impaired academic performance), and recommending solutions such as professional help, therapy, and family support. The research methodology outlines the qualitative approach, interpretivism philosophy, inductive approach, and descriptive research design employed. Data collection involves both primary and secondary sources, and the sampling method is discussed. The report aims to offer valuable insights into the complexities of teen anxiety, providing a framework for understanding its impact and suggesting potential interventions.

Epidemiological Research
Proposal

Table of Contents
TOPIC: “To examine the impact of anxiety in teenagers on behaviour, performance of an
individual. ”......................................................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Background..................................................................................................................................3
Aim and objectives......................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.....................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION...............................................................................9
TIMELINE.......................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

TOPIC: “To examine the impact of anxiety in teenagers on behaviour,
performance of an individual. ”
INTRODUCTION
Background
Anxiety is referred to as the normal emotion which leads to increased fear, alertness,
rapid heart rate and various other anxiety disorders. Anxiety is a natural phenomenon which
leads to activation of mind and body when an individual gets in contact with specific threat. This
study will explore and gain better understanding on the term anxiety. It is one of the most
common disorder of mind that affects mind, behaviour and performance of a teenager. Anxiety is
the reaction of mind or body towards unfamiliar, dangerous and stressful situations which in turn
results in various anxiety disorders. It will also evaluate the causes behind anxiety in teenagers.
This study will identify the challenges faced by teenagers suffering from anxiety and
recommended solutions to overcome anxiety.
National health service is a national directory of health services and healthcare
practitioners in order to provide improve the quality of health care services among individuals.
Aim and objectives
Aim
“To examine the impact of anxiety in teenagers on behaviour, performance of an individual- A
study on NHS.”
Research objectives
 To understand the term anxiety.
 To evaluate the causes behind anxiety in teenagers.
 To identify the challenges faced by teenagers suffering from anxiety.
 To recommend the solutions for overcoming anxiety.
Research questions
 What do you understand by the term anxiety?
 What are the causes behind anxiety in teenagers.?
 What are the challenges faced by teenagers suffering from anxiety?
 What are effective recommendable strategies for overcoming anxiety?
Rationale

It is one of the most serious issue among teenagers. According to the National Institute
of Health, approximately 1 out of 3 adolescents who are aged between 13-18 years of age are
experiencing anxiety disorders such as obsessive compulsive disorder, specific phobia,
generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety, panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, etc.
This research is carried out for academic interest as it helps in analysing the various factors
which leads to high anxiety among teenagers. The researcher of this study will light on this
research topic with the help of thematic analysis in order to examine the impact of anxiety in
teenagers on behaviour, performance of an individual.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Theme 1 : Understanding the term anxiety.
According to Mazeraud and et.al., (2018) anxiety is the reaction of mind or body towards
unfamiliar, dangerous and stressful situations. It can also be considered as distress, sense of
uneasiness feel by the individual before happening of any significant event. A particular level of
anxiety helps to remain alert buy, in case of high level it is considered as anxiety disorder.
Anxiety is one of the most common disorder of mind that affects youth. It has power to cause
impairment and disorder. Anxiety disorder keep teenagers away from talking to others,
concentrating, or leaving the home.
According to professionals working in NHS, anxiety related disorder are of different
types such as excessive fear, obsessive-compulsive disorder, stressor related disorder etc. It is
normally that children's felt anxiety from time to time like anxiety at the time of going to school
etc. Anxiety disorders is related with excessive fear. Whereas, obsessive-compulsive disorder is
characterized by intrusive thoughts. It can have negative impact on behaviour of teenagers But,
there are various situations in which anxiety affects the minds of children, their everyday
thoughts, social life, interfering with school etc. If, there is an excessive fear in teenagers of
becoming embarrassed in social situations, then it may leads to Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD).
Theme 2 : Evaluating the causes behind anxiety in teenagers.
Anxiety can be described as the major symptom of various types of conditions such as
panic disorder, social anxiety, traumatic stress disorder, phobias etc. As per the view of
Olofsdotter and et.al., (2016) long term status that makes people anxious about different
situations is called Generalised anxiety disorder. According to NHS England, one out of four
people under age of 18 suffering from mental health problem and it affects the behaviour as well

as performance of children's. There are no exact reasons behind anxiety in teenagers but, there
are different things that plays an important role in developing the situation of anxiety in
children's like brain biochemistry, genetics, stressful circumstances of life, fight-flight response,
learned behaviour etc. Someone in the family having anxiety disorder has more chances of
developing too. It may be due to genes that affects brain chemistry known as neurotransmitters.
Wallin and et.al., (2016) said that, there may be various stressful situations in the life of
teenager that can promote anxiety disorder. Example – Frightening experience of Trauma can
even lead to anxiety in teenagers. Further, if child grow up in such a family where other family
members are fearful in that case, the child will view the world as a dangerous place. There are
some teenagers that develop anxiety due to reason like being neglected in school, parents arguing
etc.
Theme 3 : Challenges faced by teenagers suffering from anxiety.
According to Albanese and et.al., (2019) there are various difficulties teenagers faces
during their suffering from anxiety. First of all, when children's are anxious due to any reason
they will feel anxious and young children's are not able to express or understand what they are
feeling. As per the opinion of professionals working in NHS, children's faces different challenges
while suffering from situation of anxiety. Teenagers will have difficulty in social interaction with
other people and they will have few friends. Their social life will get impaired. Further,
educational achievement can also be undermined. Social fear in children will interfere with some
other activities also like visiting shops, using telephone etc.
Teenagers will face difficulty in focusing on their studies, they will not be able to eat
properly, quickly gets angry on other people, being clingy. As per the view of Michaelides and
Zis (2019) children suffering from anxiety will face the situation of continuously having negative
thoughts in their mind, they will have improper behaviour towards friends, family members etc.
Other than the above challenges, some other difficulties faced by youth are condition of
depression, use of substance and even suicide. Moreover, there are physical problems also such
as digestive problem, chronic pain, headache and heart disease etc.
Theme 4 : Recommending the solutions for overcoming anxiety.
To have children's suffering from anxiety there are various steps that should be taken
among all the solutions one of the major thing is that, family members should talk about anxiety
with the child. According to Sharma and et.al., (2016) help from professionals like doctors

working in NHS etc. should be obtained in case when self-help is not working, when situation is
getting worse etc. As per the view of NHS professionals, parents of children suffering from
anxiety should take appointment with general practitioner. They will refer to child and
adolescent mental health service (CAMS). They will help to cure teenagers that are suffering
from problem like anxiety. Bourne and Garano, (2016) in their paper has pointed out that, there
are various types of treatments available to cure children suffering from anxiety disorder such as
counselling. This will help to understand the things that are making children's anxious and how
to face those situations. Cognitive behavioural therapy will also help to manage the anxiety of
teenagers by modifying the way in which they think and behave with other people.
Moreover, professionals may prescribe anxiety medicines to the child in case therapies
are not working well. Doctors will prescribe such type of medicines only when they are
specialised in mental health of adolescent. Parents may also take help of youth counselling
service. This will help to talk with children's and advising them to recover from anxious disorder.
Parents must teach their child about the signs of anxiety and how to ask for help in case it strikes.
Further, there are various types of books that will help to overcome the challenges teenagers
faces during anxiety (Lim and et.al., 2018).
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This approach is useful in identifying, selecting, processing and analysing the
information related to specific subject matter.
Research methods
It is a broad term and it widely represents the core elements of the particular research
topic. It helps in gaining new insight and wider aspect on the research topic in order to attain
goals and objectives. It can be classified into qualitative and quantitative research methods.
Qualitative method is based on individual understanding, values, belief and ideas for in- depth
understanding of the various problems (Kumar, 2019). Quantitative research method is based on
numbers, measurements, statistics and numerical analysis.
The researcher of this study will opt for qualitative research method in order to examine
the impact of anxiety in teenagers on behaviour, performance of an individual.
Research philosophy
This approach is a belief or notion according to which a study should be carried out in a
systematic manner. It can be classified into interpretivism and positivism approach.

Interpretivism approach interprets the various elements of the particular area of study by
effectively integrating human interest in the research (Mackey and Gass, 2015). Positivism
approach is based on scientific evidence such as statistics and experiments to reveal the true
nature of the study.
The researcher of this study will opt for interpretivism approach to critically understand the term
anxiety.
Research approach
It is a proper plan which is based on specific assumptions in order to gain wider prospect
on the particular area of study. It can be classified into deductive and inductive approach.
Deductive approach is based on development of hypothesis from specific theory and gain
specific knowledge on the related subject matter. Inductive approach is based on theories and
observations of various patterns in order to gain generalized conclusion for specific research
topic (2.3 Inductive or Deductive? Two Different Approaches, 2019).
The researcher of this study will opt for inductive approach to evaluate the causes behind
anxiety in teenagers.
Research design
This is an effective framework which helps in resolving various research problem in an
appropriate and logical manner by formulating a blueprint for collecting, analysing,
measurement and analysis of data (Quinlan and et.al., 2019). It can be classified into exploratory
and descriptive approach. Exploratory approach is useful in exploring and analysing the various
aspects of the study in detailed manner. Descriptive approach is based on observation and in-
depth description and analysis of the subject matter.
The researcher of this study will opt for descriptive approach to identify the challenges
faced by teenagers suffering from anxiety and recommended solutions to overcome anxiety.
Data collection
This is a crucial approach which is useful in collecting, measuring and analysing the
various variables of the research by effectively answering relevant research questions. It can be
classified into primary and secondary research methods. Primary data is the fresh and original
information which has not been collected earlier (Silverman, 2016). Secondary data collection
method is an information which has already been collected earlier and can be used for further
investigation.

The researcher of this study will opt for both primary and secondary data collection
approach to examine the impact of anxiety in teenagers on behaviour, performance of an
individual.
Sampling
This approach is useful in determining the various number of predetermined observations
which have been selected from large number of population. It can be classified into probability
and non- probability sampling method. Probability sampling method is useful in selecting
various samples from large number of population. In this method every individual has equal
chance of getting selected (Fletcher, 2017). Probability sampling is further classified as cluster,
random, stratified and multistage sampling. Non- probability sampling method is an approach
where all the individual in the large population does not have equal chance of getting selected.
Non-probability sampling is further classified into quota, purposive, snowball and convenience
sampling.
The researcher of this study will opt for random sampling method, where 10 healthcare
professional of NHS will be selected to examine the impact of anxiety in teenagers on behaviour,
performance of an individual.
Data analysis
It is an effective process which focuses on evaluating data with the help of statistical and
other analytical tools in order to discover the important and useful information which aids for
further decision making. It can be classified into SPSS tool and thematic analysis. At the time of
quantitative research, SPSS tool is used in order to analyse complex statistical information.
Thematic analysis is used when quantitative research is carried out as it helps in in- depth
analysis of each theme to attain aim and objectives of the research topic (Mackey and Gass,
2015).
The researcher of this study will opt for thematic analysis to identify the challenges faced
by teenagers suffering from anxiety and recommended solutions to overcome anxiety.
Ethical consideration and limitation
The researcher of this study will carry out research in an ethical and systematic manner
by collecting information from relevant sources and citing the source of the data collected from
various authors. The major limitation of this research was time constraints, but the researcher of

the study made an appropriate timeline by scheduling all the activities of the research and
completing research study on a timely and efficient manner.
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
From the above conducted research it has been summarized that, anxiety is one of the
most common disorder of mind that affects mind, behaviour and performance of a teenager.
Anxiety is referred to as the normal emotion which leads to increased fear, alertness, rapid heart
rate, excessive fear, obsessive-compulsive disorder, stressor related disorder and various other
anxiety disorders. This study also highlight various causes of anxiety which mainly includes high
expectations, brain development, hormones, parental disapproval, peer pressure, substance use,
and depression (Albanese and et.al., 2019). This in turn results in various anxiety disorders in
teenagers. Furthermore, this study will highlight on the various challenges faced by teenagers
who are suffering from anxiety. The social life of teenagers will get impaired. Furthermore,
educational achievement can also be undermined. Teenagers will face difficulty in social
interaction with other individuals and their friends. They will also continuously have negative
thoughts in their mind and will also have improper behaviour towards friends and family
members.
From the above conducted research it has been recommended that, teenagers who are
suffering from mental anxiety should consult health care professionals for high quality care and
services. Child and adolescent mental health service (CAMS) will also help teenagers in order to
overcome anxiety. Another effective recommendable strategy is Cognitive behavioural therapy
which helps in managing the anxiety among teenagers. Youth counselling service and parent
centred care is useful in overcoming anxiety in teenagers in order to get better care results and
outcomes. Further, there are also various types of motivating and inspirational books that will
help to overcome the challenges teenagers face during anxiety (Lim and et.al., 2018).
TIMELINE
PARTIC
ULARS
WEEK 1 WEEK 2 WEEK 3 WEEK 4 WEEK 5 WEEK 6 WEEK 7
Selection
of topic.
Formulati

on of aim
and
objectives
Literatur
e Review
Research
methodol
ogy
Conclusio
n and
recomme
ndation.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Albanese, B. J. and et.al., 2019. Repeated Exposure to Perceptual Illusion Challenges Reduces
Anxiety Sensitivity Cognitive Concerns: Evidence From a Randomized Clinical
Trial. Behavior Therapy.
Bourne, E. J. and Garano, L., 2016. Coping with anxiety: Ten simple ways to relieve anxiety,
fear, and worry. New Harbinger Publications.
Fletcher, A.J., 2017. Applying critical realism in qualitative research: methodology meets
method. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 20(2), pp.181-194.
Kumar, R., 2019. Research methodology: A step-by-step guide for beginners. Sage Publications
Limited.
Lim, J. and et.al., 2016. Endocannabinoid modulation of predator stress-induced long-term
anxiety in rats. Neuropsychopharmacology.41(5). p.1329.
Mackey, A. and Gass, S.M., 2015. Second language research: Methodology and design.
Routledge.
Mazeraud, A. and et.al., 2018. Anxiety Predicts Early Outcome in Critically Ill Patients.
Michaelides, A. and Zis, P., 2019. Depression, anxiety and acute pain: links and management
challenges. Postgraduate medicine, (just-accepted).
Olofsdotter, S. and et.al., 2016. Anxiety disorders among adolescents referred to general
psychiatry for multiple causes: clinical presentation, prevalence, and
comorbidity. Scandinavian Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and
Psychology. 4(2). pp.55-64.
Quinlan, C and et.al., 2019. Business research methods. South Western Cengage.
Sharma, A. and et.al., 2016. Anxiety and depression in patients with osteoarthritis: impact and
management challenges. Open access rheumatology: research and reviews.8. p.103.
Silverman, D. ed., 2016. Qualitative research. Sage.
Wallin, A. E. and et.al., 2016. Insufficient communication and anxiety in cancer-bereaved
siblings: A nationwide long-term follow-up. Palliative & supportive care.14(5). pp.488-
494.
1

Online
2.3 Inductive or Deductive? Two Different Approaches. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_principles-of-sociological-inquiry-qualitative-and-
quantitative-methods/s05-03-inductive-or-deductive-two-dif.html>
2