Are Japanese Children Overly Stressed by School?

When Japanese and American school children test scores are compared, the Japanese children outscore American children starting at first grade. As the children age, the disparity in test scores increases. A common perception of Japanese children is that they're overly stressed by the work necessary to attain the higher test scores. In their study, Mathematics Achievement of Chinese, Japanese and American Children: Ten Years Later, Stevenson, Chen and Lee measured the stress levels of eleventh graders from Japan and America. They asked the students, if within the last month:

Had they experienced feelings of stress?
Had they felt depressed?
Had they felt angry?
Had they had difficulty sleeping?
Had they felt nervous while taking a test or getting a test back?

Japanese students reported the lowest occurrence of these characteristics. American students were far likelier to mention feelings of anxiety, stress or aggression in connection with school. Academic stress was mentioned by 70% of American students. The other sources of stress, peers, family, sports and work, were mentioned 1/3 as frequently as academic stress. The authors noted in their paper that the perception of over stressed Japanese children may be based on informal reports. Until their study, they were unaware of any formal comparative studies. The authors state:

These data do not support the Western stereotype of Asian students as tense young persons driven by relentless pressures for academic excellence... Rather, it was the American students who were more likely to express indications of distress. We believe this occurred because American students do not have a clear idea about the importance they should place on education.

The image of a stressed out Japanese child may be nothing more than illusion.

Summary