Application of the concepts of Positive Psychology in Stress-management for College Students

In entering college, it is a challenge for emerging young adults to become independent,

to manage their own finances, and to maintain good grades and academic standards while
adjusting to a new environment and social life. Things may have change abruptly but these are
necessary for the personal growth of college students and it is often accompanied by the
experience of stress. Stress is considered as a major issue for college students since most of the
first-year undergraduates are living separately from their parents for the first time (Oman et al.,
2008). According to a study by Hudd et al. (2000), that there have been 52% of college students
who reported to have high stress levels during a usual semester. From complying a lot of
academic requirements to taking a major examination, long tests, deadlines to meet, other
extracurricular activities, personal, financial, social and family problems are certainly
overwhelming and can cause stress to college students. Previous studies have found that
academics, social relationships, daily hassles, finances, and familial relationships (Abouserie
1994; Blankstein et al. 1991; Crespi and Becker 1999; Frazier and Schauben 1994; Larson 2006;
Printz et al. 1999; Ross et al. 1999).
Stress is an inescapable universal experience of all human beings especially to college
students. Although, humans need stress to function fully and moderate stress can also improve
one’s work however, it is considered as a threat to one’s physical and mental health. Previous
studies have found that stress among college students often results to decreased life satisfaction,
cognitive deficits such as concentration difficulties, illness, and increased rates of depression and
anxiety (Bailey and Miller 1998; Chang 2001; Dyson and Renk 2006; Edwards et al. 2001; Lumley
and Provenzano 2003; Pritchard et al. 2007; as cited by Brougham et al., 2009). Other studies
have found that stress is associated with physical illnesses such as heart disease (Rozanski, 1999;
as cited by Naseem & Khalid, 2010). High level of stress can also result to sleeping pattern
disturbances, suicidal ideation, poor health behaviors and hopelessness (Oman et al., 2008).
Thus, given these findings it is important to discuss strategies or concepts that would reduce
stress effectively among college students.
It is hypothesized that coping strategies reduce the effect of stress on an individual’s well-
being (Lazarus and Folkman 1984 as cited by Brougham et al., 2009). One of the coping strategies
that is helpful in reducing stress is positive thinking. According to Naseem and Khalid (2010),
positive thinking has roots in humanistic psychology which mainly focuses on human issues such
as hope, love, creativity, self-actualization, and being. It is not only merely looking at the brighter
side of any stressful situations but it is also associated with positive emotions such as optimism,
hope, joy, and well-being. In positive thinking, positive emotions, hope, optimism, and happiness
are frequently experienced (Naseem & Khalid, 2010). Individuals who are positive thinkers can
cope with difficult circumstances effectively in which it alleviates stress. A research by Carver and
Scheier (2001) on optimists and pessimists found that optimistic individuals accept challenges
right away and are likely to be involved in more focused active coping strategies when the results
of their efforts are productive compared to pessimists. Also, these individuals are unlikely to give
up easily and show signs of disengagement. By thinking positively, college students may be able
to handle the things that make them feel stressed and change the way they think specifically their
negative thoughts into positive ones, for instance, thinking of “Through studying really hard, I will
ace this exam” instead of “This exam is really difficult, I will fail”. By changing one’s thoughts, it
can affect the way he or she behaves and how he or she reacts and manages stressful situations.
Anthony Ong (2006) states that, “occurrence of daily positive emotions serves to moderate stress
reactivity”. It has also been found that positive thinking and positive affect are related with stress
reduction as well as predicting healthy results (Tugade & Fredrickson, 2004; Tugade et al, 2004;
as cited by Naseem & Khalid, 2010). Another study by (Wong and Denial, 2007) about immigrants
reported that positive thinking has been effective in the resettlement stage of immigrant process.
Moreover, the more an individual thinks positively which serves as a coping strategy, the more
he or she views the stressful event as less threatening thus he or she can cope well.

Another way to lower stress is meditation. Daily hassles such as being late that college
students encounter can be physically and mentally draining. Due to academic and social
demands, they tend to forget to rest, pause, and think in silence for a while and be aware of what
is going on in their body and mind. When an individual experiences stress, his or her body’s stress
response or also known as flight or fight response is activated. In this state, the person is tense
or feels restless which can produce damaging effects to the body as well as to one’s psychological
well-being. But there is good way to combat stress and prevent its unhealthy outcomes and that
is meditation. Meditation affects one’s body in contrast to how stress does wherein it triggers
the body’s relaxation response (Scott, 2018). Through meditating, it brings the person to a calm
state which prevents the negative effects of stress. A study by Oman et al., (2008), evaluated the
effectiveness on stress, rumination, forgiveness and hope of training programs for college
undergraduate students in meditation-based stress management programs wherein they found
out that meditation-based programs such as mindfulness meditation, mindful attention, and
poetry reflecting mindfulness decrease stress at the same time enhance forgiveness among
college students. Moreover, research suggests that individuals who constantly practice
meditation experience changes on how the way they respond to stressful situations which makes
them recover easily and feel less stressed. This is believed to result positive mood and thus
research shows that individuals who are in positive moods are likely to be more resilient to
adversities (As cited by Scott, 2018).

Lastly, stress among college students can also be lessened through mindfulness. According to
Brown and Ryan (2003) that mindfulness is an element of consciousness that is long believed to
boost well-being. When an individual is aware and conscious to his or her surroundings, predict