Abstract

GONCALVES, Lívia Caroline Souza; CANAL, Cláudia Patrocínio Pedroza  and  MISSAWA, Daniela Dadalto Ambrozine. Investigating stress in children with learning difficulties. Constr. psicopedag. [online]. 2016, vol.24, n.25, pp.149-169. ISSN 1415-6954.

Stress in children is similar to stress in adults; it is the physical and/or psychological response to the changes or adaptations required by a stressor. The school environment can be a stress inducing one and, if the child has learning difficulties, this stress might become even more apparent. As such, this study aimed to investigate both the manifestation of childhood stress symptoms in children with learning difficulties as well as how said stress is perceived by these children. Six children from a public school in Vila Velha, E.S. were interviewed so as to assess stress levels; these children showed learning difficulties but had not been clinically diagnosed with any type of disorder. The interviews were analyzed qualitatively. Results showed a prevalence in the manifestation of psychological symptoms; still, both psychological and physical symptoms were evident, showing signs of childhood stress in the children who were assessed. This study intends to suggest new research possibilities in this still new and not yet fully explored area, so as to bring about the development of intervention programs aimed at minimizing the effects of childhood stress as a product of the learning process, especially when learning difficulties are present.

Keywords : Stress; Students; Learning Difficulties.

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