Psychophysiological indicators of school anxiety

Abstract

Regular interrelations between social-psychological and physiological indicators of children adaptation to primary school learning environment are analyzed. The results of the longitudinal study as a part of which five consecutive measurements of anxiety indicators and relevant psychophysiological indicators were compared in 140 second-fourth grade students are presented. Hormonal function was studied by measuring salivary cortisol levels in 26 children. The most informative for school maladjustment estimation factors of Phillips school anxiety questionnaire were identified. The risk of school anxiety and maladjustment development was found to be connected with status index in students’ group, fair academic achievements and diligence of a child. The physiological marker of a functional condition of psychological stress in primary school children is a salivary cortisol level. The obtained results show that sympathetic-adrenal tone index (technique of A.Ya.Kaplan) is sensitive to psychological stress in children with expressed unusual behavior who are isolated in students' group. Therefore it seems appropriate to use psychophysiological tests for identifying children at anxiety and maladjustment risk under conditions of a general education school.