Mason Wright

Prof. Dylan Colvin

ENG 1201

10 March 2020

Literature Review

College students are no stranger to stress. It is very common for students in college to

experience a large amount, often much more amplified than stress previously encountered from

high school experiences. The effects of stress are primarily negative, and commonly result in

physical effects such as insomnia, nausea, and chest pain. This review will be investigating

sources that engage with the creation, effects, and management of college stress. How does

college stress affect the health (physical) and social (psychological) aspects of student life? Also,

what are possible solutions to mitigate these effects?

The academic journal, “Stress and the college student,” written by Cristin S. Goldman

and Eugene H. Wong analyzes “the relations between stress and college students’ domain

specific self perceptions.” Eight scales were used to determine the effect of stress on the life of a

student. Some of these scales include scholastic competence, appearance, close friendships, and a

measure of global self esteem. The writers of the journal assumed that “stress would be

significantly associated with self perceptions,” (Goldman and Wong) meaning that stress would

be held responsible for major changes regarding the scales of self perception. The results of the

study determined that “stress was found to be negatively associated with students’ self concept”

(Goldman and Wong). This result means that students with higher stress levels had lower levels

of self perception. This study confirms the dangerous effect of stress on the life of a college
student. This source is very credible, and can be used during an early paragraph to introduce

these effects.

The other two academic sources that will be used mainly revolve around other effects of

stress, and how some college students decide to cope with it. Thomas O’Hare, an associate

professor of social work at Boston College, completed a study that investigated the link between

drinking problems and stress. Yefei Wang, Guangrong Xie, and Xiong Cui conducted a study at

2 Chinese universities which analyzed the “effects of emotional intelligence and self-leadership

on students coping with stress.” All three authors are disciplined in areas such as clinical

psychology, neuroscience, and developmental psychology. Each of these studies deepen the

effects of stress even further. These studies are most likely intended for an audience consisting of

other academic authors and professors, judging by each articles’ “Level 5” content level within

the Gale in Context database. I will be able to use these scientific journals to determine what

creates stress for students in college, and what effects come along with it.

The next source that will be used for my research essay is an article created by Western

Governors University. This purpose of this article is to “provide you with information about how

to recognize different kinds of stress, various sources of stress for college students, as well as tips

for coping in a healthy way” (Western Governors University). Therefore, the targeted audience

will consist of students that attend Western Governors University and also deal with college

stress. The guide contains multiple citations and is quite relevant, as it was created in 2019. I

plan on using this article to go in more detail about the different types of stress that college

students may encounter, and to analyze different coping methods, both healthy and unhealthy.

The final source is an article from American Addiction Centers. The organization

conducted a survey of nearly one thousands students, and asked about their college stress issues
and other factors that were involved. The survey determines the most stressed students by major,

and how they manage to cope with it. This source can also be connected to the study done by

Thomas O’Hare, as it goes into detail regarding the use of alcohol as a way to cope with certain

levels of college stress. The survey also discovered information about students when it came to

using study drugs, without a prescription, in order to increase concentration and other abilities a

college student needs. I will use this source to support my arguments about certain coping

methods with statistics, and also to emphasize the dangers of alcoholism and drug use associated

with stress.

All five of these sources support the idea that college stress is a serious issue that can

have dangerous effects on students if it is not managed correctly. “88 percent of college students

reported their school life to be stressful” (American Addiction Centers). This stress can come

from schoolwork, the student’s social life, exams, and financial problems. Certain college majors

seem to have a specific way of managing the stress that arises from these issues. For example,

the American Addiction Centers also say that “engineering and marketing majors seem to prefer

a more risky route, using alcohol to cope with stress more than any other majors.” So what

exactly causes these students to resort to drinking alcohol and taking study drugs? Stress has the

ability to affect people both physically and emotionally. According to Goldman and Wong’s

study, the results “also suggest that those with higher stress had lower levels of global self

worth.” Self-confidence, friendships, and academic performance can all be negatively impacted

by large amounts of stress that go un-managed. Fortunately, there are many ways to manage

college stress; although not all ways are beneficial.

There are three different types of stress: acute, episodic, and chronic. (WGU) Each type

has some of their own physical effects. A Chinese study shows that those who have high
emotional intelligence and self leadership have a strong relationship with active coping; meaning

that they will be most likely to cope with high levels of stress much more efficiently. (Wang et

al.) As mentioned earlier, students often attempt to ignore their stress by consuming alcohol.

This is a very dangerous method, and will most likely create even higher levels of stress.

Western Governors University has created a guide to combat stress, and gives many

recommendations. In order to balance family, school, and work, WGU recommends that students

“learn to say ‘no’ when [they’re] too busy” and “create a daily schedule of all of [their]

appointments, classes, and shifts at work.” Handling stress is possible, as long as it’s done in a

healthy manner. College stress is something that is very common, yet makes most victims feel

alone. It’s important to learn how to cope with it as quickly as possible, and doing so could help

save lives.

Works Cited

“American Addiction Centers.” A National Leader In Addiction Recovery Treatment,

americanaddictioncenters.org/learn/college-coping-mechanisms/.
Glodman, Cristin S., and Eugene H. Wong. "Stress and the college student." Education,

vol. 117, no. 4, 1997, p. 604+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/A19791387/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=c99887fd. Accessed 1 Mar. 2020.

O'Hare, Thomas. "Stress and drinking context in college first offenders." Journal of

Alcohol & Drug Education, vol. 47, no. 1, 2001, p. 4+. Gale In Context: Opposing

Viewpoints, https://link-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/apps/doc/A106652192/OVIC?

u=dayt30401&sid=OVIC&xid=c82b21c0. Accessed 1 Mar.

Wang, Yefei, et al. "Effects of emotional intelligence and self-leadership on students'

coping with stress." Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, vol. 44,

no. 5, 2016, p. 853+. Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints, https://link-gale-

com.sinclair.ohiccessed 1 Mar. 2020.

Western Governors University. “Stress in College Students for 2019: (How To Cope).”

Western Governors University, Western Governors University, 18 Feb. 2020,

www.wgu.edu/blog/stress-college-students-2019-how-to-cope1902.html.