We decided to conduct a research study to determine the extent of stress related to applications. Throughout our study, we were able to understand how student's lives were affected by this stress and the most effective methods used to combat this stress. This research study consists of 3 parts: pre-survey, interventions, and post-survey.
Pre-Survey
In order to recognize the impact of the stress, we sent out a pre-survey to high schoolers asking them how their lives have been negatively affected by stress. We executed this by asking them how often they think about college admissions, and rating their current stress levels on a scale of 1-10. We also asked them to identify the amount of sleep that they get, so we have tangible data to compare at the end of our study.
Interventions
The next step in our study was to implement interventions on participants. With the help of our mental health consultant, we created interventions aimed to reduce participant's stress, specifically targeting the risk factors. Over the course of four weeks, we emailed participants the intervention for the week and asked that they send pictures and videos as proof that they are fully involved with the study.
Interventions included:
Week 1: Blue Light Filter
Week 2: Exercise
Week 3: Journaling
Week 4: Nutrition
Post-Survey
The final step of the study was for participants to complete a post-survey. This survey asked them to reflect on interventions we had them complete and ask which they felt were the most effective. We also asked them how their stress levels changed over the course of the study to reveal the magnitude and extent that the interventions had. Finally, we determined their levels of sleep with the effects of the interventions to determine any improvement.
