It correlates with this study and its purpose as the study mentioned above has the objective to

identify the levels of stress and depression among students to point out the relationship between
these two variables, and their results show that freshmen are the most depressed and graduating
students are the most stressed.

Related Literature

In accordance to a study, “Depressed as Freshmen, Stressed as Seniors: The Relationship

between Depression, Perceived Stress and Academic Results among Medical Students” by

Grigore T. Popa:

The highest rate of depression characterizes students from preclinical years

(especially freshmen) and the highest rate of perceived stress is among students
about to graduate. Students from the third year of medical studies seem to be the
least stressed and depressed, whereas students from the fourth year are the most
prone to thinking of dropping out.

It correlates with this study and its purpose as the study mentioned above has the

objective to identify the levels of stress and depression among students to point out the

relationship between these two variables, and their results show that freshmen are the most

depressed and graduating students are the most stressed.

Feeling overwhelming stress for a long period of time is often called chronic, or long-

term, stress, and it can impact on both physical and mental health. According to Galderisi, et al

(2015) defined mental health as a:

Dynamic state of internal equilibrium which enables individuals to use their abilities
in harmony with universal values of society. Basic cognitive and social skills; ability
to recognize, express and modulate one’s own emotions, as well as empathize with
others; flexibility and ability to cope with adverse life events and function I social
toles; and harmonious relationship between body and mind represent important
components of mental health which contribute, to varying degrees, to the state of
internal equilibrium.
 Stress in a student’s life can alter their state of mind and hence disrupt their “internal

equilibrium”. This disturbance can have permanent effects on how a student will live his/her life

throughout high school or if the stress becomes chronic, possibly for the rest of their lives.

In accordance with a similar study titled, “A Study of Academic Stress Among Higher

Secondary School Studies” by Dr. Pratibha and Mr. Bijender Singh:

Academic stress defined as a mental distress with respect to some anticipated

frustration associated with academic failure or even unawareness to the possibility
of such failure. Students have to face many academic demands, such as- school
examination and tests, answering the questions in the class, showing progress in
school subject. Understanding what a teacher is teaching, competing with other
classmates, fulfilling teachers’ and parents’ academic expectations. Archer and
Lamnin (1985) defined academic stress as a stress arising from important factors
like writing term papers, text anxiety, poor study skills, excessive academic load and
classroom environment, which in the turn forms a major part of general stress in
adolescent students. According to Gupta and Khan (1987), academic stress
essentially relates to mental distress associated with some anticipated frustration on
account of academic failure or even a realization of the possibility of such a failure.
Fireman (1992) defined academic stress is anything that imposes an extra demand
on a person’s ability to cope, often with something that a new and different in
academic.

The study mentioned above relates to this study and its aim to: find academic stress

of higher secondary school students, find out gender difference on academic stress of

higher secondary school students, find out difference on academic stress of science, arts

and commerce stream students of higher secondary schools, find out differences on

academic stress of government aided and self-financed school students, find out differences

on academic stress of rural and urban area school students where it concludes that

academic stress is a serious problem. It is caused from examination and tests, competing

with classmates, fulfilling teachers’ and parents’ expectations (and etc.)

Feeling overwhelming stress for a long period of time is often called chronic, or long-term,
stress, and it can impact on both physical and mental health.