Author(s) :

Brandon Lin.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Noise is a common environmental exposure in urban communities, yet little is known about how high school students perceive its association with learning and well-being. This mixed-methods cross-sectional study examined self-reported perceptions of noise exposure and their associations with concentration, sleep, stress, and academic functioning among Seattle-area high school students. Participants included 31 students in Grades 9–12 who were recruited through snowball sampling across multiple Seattlearea high schools. Data were collected using an anonymous online survey that included demographic questions, perceived noise exposure measures, 10 Likert-scale items that assessed concentration, sleep, stress, and academic functioning, as well as open-ended questions. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and exploratory Spearman rank-order correlations. Most participants reported experiencing noticeable noise on most days (mean = 3.55/5) and high agreement for difficulty concentrating in class (mean = 3.27/5), compared to lower perceived academic functioning (mean = 2.10/5) and sleep disruption (mean = 1.90/5). In addition, qualitative responses reinforced the quantitative findings by providing additional context. These findings suggest that students perceived noise as being more closely associated with immediate concentration issues rather than poorer self-reported academic functioning. However, because this study relied on self-reported perceptions that were obtained from a cross-sectional survey, the findings should only be interpreted as exploratory rather than causal. Future studies may use larger samples and objective noise measurements to further examine these relationships.