She noted a shift over the years in terms of where pressure originates from.
"In earlier years, we noticed a trend of students being more susceptible to external pressure. So parents will say, you need to work very hard, you need to do well, you need to go to this school. And there's a lot of pressure from family and sometimes teachers,” Dr Chow said.
“But in recent years, the trend has kind of shifted where … parents will share with me that (they’re) really okay with however (their children) do, as long as they try their best, that's all right.”
However, she said students can still place intense expectations on themselves, particularly when their parents are very successful.
"The students feel like they cannot fail their parents, and they don't want to bring shame to the family. They want to make their parents proud."
Fear of being left behind socially is another factor, she added.
"If their friends are all aiming to go to an elite school, they want to go together because they don't want to feel socially left behind."
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"In earlier years, we noticed a trend of students being more susceptible to external pressure. So parents will say, you need to work very hard, you need to do well, you need to go to this school. And there's a lot of pressure from family and sometimes teachers,” Dr Chow said.
“But in recent years, the trend has kind of shifted where … parents will share with me that (they’re) really okay with however (their children) do, as long as they try their best, that's all right.”
However, she said students can still place intense expectations on themselves, particularly when their parents are very successful.
"The students feel like they cannot fail their parents, and they don't want to bring shame to the family. They want to make their parents proud."
Fear of being left behind socially is another factor, she added.
"If their friends are all aiming to go to an elite school, they want to go together because they don't want to feel socially left behind."
Continue reading...