Stress among University students

Stress among University

Students
Submitted to
Sir Muhammad Imran

Presented by

Muhammad Irfan
 Stress among University students

Abstract
Purpose: This study conduct on University Students during 2013 and sample chose from Federal
Urdu University Islamabad. This study examine that which factors are reason of stress among
University students, and how these factors affecting the study and behavior of students towards
study. Which are most important to examine and how to minimize the stress.

Design/ Methodology: Questionnaires were designed and distributed to all the students of Federal
Urdu University students. This measures perceived levels of stress amongst the students of Federal
Urdu University and potential effects of stress on the performance of students.

Research limitations: Reliance on self-reported measures is one of the limitations of this study.
More objective measures of performance such as grades, test scores, or teachers’ ratings of
performance, observed stress reactions, and problem-solving ability, can be used in future
research.

Value: This research paper highlights the causes of stress and their negative impacts on students’
performance.

Key words: Stress, Examination, Financial Problems, Lack of interest in study.

 Stress among University students

Introduction:

Stress is described as, "a physical or psychological stimulus that can produce mental tension or
physiological reactions that may lead to illness." When you are under stress, your adrenal gland
releases corticosteroids, which are converted to cortisol in the blood stream. According to Richard
S Lazarus, stress is a feeling experienced when a person thinks that "the demands exceed the
personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.

According to Sarah Mae Sincero (2012) there are three different types of stress that are following;
Acute stress (Acute stress is usually for short time and may be due to work pressure, meeting
deadlines pressure or minor accident, over exertion, increased physical activity, searching
something but you misplaced it, or similar things) Episodic Stress (Acute stress that is suffered
too frequently is called episodic stress. This type of stress is usually seen in people who make self-
inflicted, unrealistic or unreasonable demands which get all clamored up and bring too much stress
in their attempt to accomplish these goals. Episodic stress is not like chronic stress, though, because
this type of stress ceases from time to time yet not as frequently as acute stress does). Chronic
stress (This type of stress is the most serious of all the 3 stress types. Chronic stress is a prolonged
stress that exists for weeks, months, or even years. This stress is due to poverty, broken or stressed
families and marriages, chronic illness and successive failures in life. People suffering from this
type of stress get used to it and may even not realize that they are under chronic stress. It is very
harmful to their health)

Stress has an impact on a student’s academic performance .Students have many obstacles to
overcome in order to achieve their optimal academic performance. The recent study of this
research is to measure the level of stress among students relating to their study related matters as
well as from other resources that causes them stress. Stress can be defined as a state of
psychological arousal that results when external demands tax or person’s ability. While there we
observe that academic research is also the main factors that give the result about the level of stress
among the students Gall, Evans. & Bellerose (2000) .There is also suggestions taken that stress
also contribute its negative effect among the student performance. Some students avail this stress
as positive aspect while those who take this as negative stress fail to show good performance
Perrine1999, Zhang& Richarde (1988).

In summarizing the introduction about stress it is suggested that there are many factors that causes
stress among students but we shall examine the lack of interest in study, examination and financial
problems that causes major stress among the students.
 Stress among University students

Literature Review

R.David (2008) “Stress among higher education students: towards a research agenda” In this
he study about the variables that create stress are examinations, transition to university, getting
education in different countries, financial problem and stress related to study. Here the results show
that there is positive/strongly relationship between examination and stress. In exams the students
feel stress due to change in daily activities, paper preparation, shortness of sleep, fear of paper and
result.
It is also strong relationship between transitions of university and stress. Transition means journey
from home to university. Students need to take new responsibilities that they feel burden. They
need to adjust their environment and maintain the academic performance that lead to stress. There
is positive relationship between get education from other country and stress because in new
country there is different culture, traditions’ and new language that causes the stress. The study
shows that a positive relationship between financial problem and stress. If student not have money
to pay fee than he done part time job that is over work loaded and create stress.

Sarath A. Nonis, Gail I. Hudson, Laddie B. Logan, and Charles W. Ford (1998) “Influence
of perceived control over time on college students’ stress and stress related-outcomes” in this
the variables that create stress are time constraints, financial strain, academic workload, and
interpersonal difficulties with faculty and peers. Here the results show that there is positive
relationship between stress and time constraints, financial strain, academic workload, interpersonal
difficulties with faculty and peers. The methodology used in this article is questioner and results
are drawn through mean, median, correlation and regression.
Arie Shirom (1986) “Student’s Stress” The study shows that the variables that create stress are
Examination related, meeting class assignments, teaching process and university work and
university family interface. The major purpose of this research was to systematically identify the
most relevant stresses perceived by students to characterize by their university milieu. The
procedure used to identify the students’ stress through the nominal group technique was a
modification’ necessitated by time constrains. End of this study the results shows that the stress in
the student due to related with examination, quizzes and assignments. The methodology use for
results is Mean and Standard deviation.
Anna Zajacova, Scott M. Lynch, and Thomas J. Espenshade (2005) “Self-efficacy stress and
academics success in college” This paper examines the joint effect of two related social cognitive
factors-academic self-efficacy and stress-on academic performance and retention for college
freshmen. Both of these factors have been examined extensively as predictors of academic
adjustment, but the focus explicitly on assessing the relative importance of these two variables in
explaining college success. They employ a new instrument that assesses both self-efficacy and
stress with regard to identical college related tasks, allowing for a more direct comparison of these
two constructs. They examine three measures of academic success: first-year cumulative grades
and credits, and retention in the second year. Self-efficacy is defined as a self-evaluation of one’s
competence to successfully execute a course of action necessary to reach desired outcomes. Self-
efficacy and stress are closely related concepts. In Lazarus’ cognitive model of stress personal
beliefs such as self-efficacy are crucial in evaluating demands from the environment. Each external
demand is evaluated as a ‘‘threat’’ or a ‘‘challenge,’’ and persons with high self-efficacy beliefs
are more likely to evaluate the demands as a challenge. While social cognitive theory provides a
coherent framework linking self-efficacy and stress, most research has explored their independent
 Stress among University students

roles in explaining academic outcomes. The analyses were conducted in two parts. First, we
examined the data via both exploratory and confirmatory factor and second are used structural
equation modeling. Results are drawn through Mean and Frequencies.

E. A. Yumatov, V. A. Kuz’menko, V. I. Badikov (2001) “Emotional stress in Students during

examinations” The psych emotional reactions of students caused by examinations were studied
on the basis of a modern theory of emotions by means of a complex of modern psychophysiological
methods. To study the role of probabilistic forecasting of results in the development of the psych
emotional state, each student was asked to predict his or her mark. Groups were formed based on
the difference between the expectations and the actual mark. The variables discussed in this study
that create stress are Examination. Examinations produce a strong psych emotional reaction in
students. Practical experience and the results of questioning indicate that the majority of students
experience severe stress before and during examinations and the effect of the stress persist for
several days after the examinations. First of all, the examination- induced emotional stress was
due to actual motivations, including social motivations (intention to continue higher education,
responsibility, prestige, etc.). Second, an examination has an inherent element of uncertainty about
the result (passing the exam or obtaining a particular mark). The risk of getting an undesirable
mark increases because students usually learn an enormous amount of information within a short
time disregarding a normal physiological regimen and rational alternation of work and rest. This
practice is caused by lack of self-discipline during the semester of study. The method used is
questioner and tested by the Psychological testing included personality and situational anxiety test.
The result shows that the examination situation causes psych emotional and somatoautonomic
reactions of the students before, during, and after the examination
Gary F. koeske and Randi daimon koeske (1991) “Student ‘Burn out’ as mediator of the
stress –outcome relationship” Recent research has begun to examine the student role, either alone
or combination with other simultaneously held roles( such as worker, spouse and parent) As a
source of stress and negative consequence. The present study seeks to contribute positively to both
the conceptualization and measurement of student related stress effects by offering a model and
several assessment instruments. The study is a part of program of research conducted over several
years to explore stress and strain among helping professionals, mothers and graduate students. It
uses a demand-stress strain-outcome model to evaluate stress impacts, thus building on an
approach with demonstrated utility while offering an opportunity for further refinement. In this we
calculate the three types of stress that produce stress in the students that are Event stress, Felt stress
and Conflict stress. The method used to test these hypotheses is questioner mean and standard
deviation and the results are drawn that indicate the temporal location of the variables in the stress-
strain-outcome path is based on a priori conceptualization, the inherent quality of measure, and an
attempt to impose on a time frame by instruction provided to the respondent.

Variables

DEPENDENT VARIABLES

 Stress
 Stress among University students

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES

 Examination
 Financial problems
 Lack of interest in study

THEORATICAL FRAME WORK

In this research stress is my dependent variable and examination, financial problems and lack of
interest in study are independent variables. There is positive relationship between stress and
examination, financial problems and lack of interest.

Schematic diagram
S Dependent variables

Independent Variable

ettfdiiidSS

Examination

Financial problems Stress

Lack ofProblems
interest in study

HYPOTHESIS:

H1= There is relationship between examination and stress

H1= Financial problem increases stress
H1= There is relationship between financial problems and stress
H1= Lack of interest increases stress
H1= There is relationship between lack of interest in study and stress
H1= No interest in study is a significant factor of study
H1= Examination effects the level of stress
 Stress among University students

Methodology
A questionnaire survey was adopted in this paper. A questionnaire consisting of two sections,
including “basic data” and “sources of stress” was developed. A questionnaire was distributed
among student .In these study students were selected as the sample because the focus of this study
is on student. So only the student can response correctly and if data were taken from other field of
society responses could never be valid and desirable. A sample of 100 students was taken into
account for the responses. 100 questionnaires were randomly distributed and all were collected
with valid responses. Quantitative research approach is used in this study.

Study Type
 Descriptive
 Case Study

Limitations
Reliance on self-reported measures is one of the limitations of this study. More objective measures
of performance such as grades, test scores, or teachers’ ratings of performance, observed stress
reactions, and problem-solving ability, can be used in future research. Also, the convenience nature
of the sample requires replication of this study in other university environments prior to
generalizing these results to all student populations. Finally, the study is also constrained by the
absence of controls for variables such as race, ethnicity, and degree aspirations, all of which may
be related to outcomes such as grade-point average and problem-solving ability.

Conclusion
This study examines that examination, financial problems, and lack of interest in study have negative
impact on stress in University students. And there is need to minimize this stress to resolve these
problems. Stress can be resolve to resolve these issue relating to students of University. Most of
students in Pakistan are not able to pay the fee of University to continue the Graduation and Master
studies.
 Stress among University students

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