A recent survey carried out by the American Psychological Association (APA) has revealed that stress factors such as pressures faced in the school and the family's current financial situation have more effect on children and young adults than parents realize.

The study has taken cues from a previous research which indicated that the top health concern for teens from the 9th to 12th grade is stress.

Psychologists have asserted that if kids do not learn to manage this stress in healthy ways, it could pose serious long terms hazards and health complications.

According to psychologists involved in the study, long term stress can contribute significantly to chronic health conditions. Teens studied for the sake of the research admitted that their stress level had increased over the last year. While 45% children from the 13-17 age group confessed to worrying more in the current year, as compared to before, about 26% from the 8-12 age group admitted the same.

The study has also managed to uncover that parents are blissfully ignorant of these facts as only 17% of the parents questioned actually believed that their children worried. Also, when asked to rate the level of stress experienced by their children on a 10 point scale, only 2.5% parents said that it was extreme.

The survey's figures have sounded a warning bell among parents and authorities who are now looking at ways to combat the problem effectively.