THE EFFECTS OF STRESS ON ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF GRADE 11

HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES STUDENTS OF NOTRE DAME BAGO CITY

CAMPUS

A Thesis Presented to the Basic Education of Notre Dame of Bago City

In partial fulfillment of the Requirements for the Senior High School

Amar, Florence P.
Amantil, John Prats
Escamos, Mark Rodrigo
Francisco, Aubrey
Julian, Angel Peñacuba
Magno, Stephanie Marie Delrio
Pamaybay, Maja Angelica
Rafols, Elvin John
Rementas, Earl Johana Mae
Sabobo, Earl John
Villarin, Juvy
Yubara, Althia C.

April 2023
 CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Stress is a major source of problems that students face during their education when they
are struggling to achieve academic outcomes for their future life (Lee & Graham, 2001). Stress
demands high expectations of oneself, which causes a feeling of tension and pressure (Goedert,
Cuenda, Craxton, Jakes & Cohen 1997). Certain tensions set us in motion and are good for us
without any tension. Many say that our lives would be boring and possibly meaningless
(Wilson,2007). However, when stress undermines our psychological and physical health, it is
bad. Students are subject to different types of stressors, such as pressure from academics with the
obligation to succeed, an uncertain future and difficulties integrating into the system. Students
also face social, emotional, physical and family problems that can affect their ability to learn and
their academic performance (Rogers & Yassin,2003). Too much stress can cause physical and
mental health problems, low student self-esteem, and can also affect students’ academic
performance (Niemi & Vainiomaki,1999).
This study focuses more on the harm than good stress does to students in relation to their
academic performance at school. It is common for students, individually or in groups, to interact
with their environment, these experiences in one way or another affect their academic
performance (Chemers, Hu & Garcia 2001). Stress has generated a lot of interest in recent years.
It has been of great concern to members of the academic world and other researchers. For most
people, stress is bad and should be avoided, but this position is not always true. According to
Yates (1979), stress in sufficient quantity is a necessary ingredient for anyone whose life will
show vitality. Stress must be managed, not simply avoided. Therefore, this study is designed to
analyze the effect of stress on students’ academic performance using the Grade 11 HUMSS as a
case study. Ivancevish (1980) pointed out that to say that stress causes performance degradation
is rather simplistic as to the starting position. Therefore, there must be an optimal level of stress
tolerated to achieve performance. This point of view makes stress a complex concept which
does not lead to a simple definition. Mc-Garth (1776) defined stress in terms of conditions
necessary for it in the following way: it is a potential for stress when it is perceived that the
environmental situation presents a demand which threatens to exceed capacities of the person.
The same is true of the harmful effects on their well-being, their health and even the care of their
students. Some negative effects of stress are increased absenteeism, heart disease, late classes
and poor health.
In this sense, this study seeks to discover the negative impact of stress on student
achievement, the relationship between school stress and students’ achievement, and finally, to
recommend strategies for managing stress at Notre Dame of Bago City, the reason being that
complex results on how academic stress relates to students’ performance can be provided
effectively.

Statement of the Problem

This study aims to determine the Effects of Academic Stress on Academic Performance
of Grade 11 Humanities and Social Sciences Students of Notre Dame of Bago City, school year
2022-2023.

Specifically, this study sought to answer the following:

1. What is the demographic profile of the respondents in terms of:
a. Socio-economic status,
b. Sex,
c. Environment
2. What is the academic level of the academic performance of the respondents in terms of their final
grade?
3. How does stress affect the academic performance of the respondents when grouped according to
their profile?
4. What are the effective strategies and techniques of the students in order to cope with their stress?

Scope and Limitations of the Study

This study focuses on the Effects of Stress on Academic Performance of Grade 11
Humanities and Social Sciences Students of Notre Dame Bago City Campus.
A total of 100 students responded to the survey questionnaires. Participants of the study
were randomly chosen through convenience sampling technique. Other variables not mentioned
in the study are not included. The respondents of the study are composed of 25 Grade 11
HUMSS-A, 25 Grade 11 HUMSS-B, 25 Grade 11 HUMSS-C and 25 Grade 11 HUMSS-D
students.

Significance of the Study

The findings of this present study would be a great contribution to the vast knowledge
about the effects of stress on the academic performance of the respondents. Henceforth, the study
could be significant to the following:
Students. The study would be instrumental for them to get ideas regarding
the techniques or strategies in coping with stress. They will be motivated to
continue working hard in school for their development.
Teachers. They will be aware of the effects of stress to their students so
that they could adjust to help students in having lesser stress experience.
School Admin. This may serve as their guide for provision of programs
that would help students cope with stress in their respective courses or programs.
Curriculum Evaluator. The study will help them know what curriculum
would be done to lessen the stress experienced by the Grade 11 HUMSS
students of Notre Dame Bago City Campus.

Theoretical Framework

Several studies have found an association between academic stress and low academic
performance (Linn & Zeppa, 1984; Rayle & Chung, 2007; Wilks, 2008). Felsten & Wilcox,
(1992b) and Blumberg & Flaherty (1985) found an important adverse association between
college students' stress levels and their academic success. Struthers et al., (2000) also indicated
that lower course grades were correlated with academic distress. Owing to tests, tasks, time
pressure, grade pressure, and confusion, students experience academic distress. To sum up, this
tension has a negative impact on the academic performance of students.
Proposed by scientist Hans Selye (1907-1982) his General Adaptation Syndrome
(GAS) model in showing the three phases what the alleged effects of stress has on the body and
describe the body’s short-term and long-term reactions to stress. Selye, known as the “father of
stress research”, developed the theory that stress is a major cause of disease because chronic
stress causes long-term chemical changes. He observed that the body would respond to any
external biological source of stress with a predictable biological pattern in an attempt to restore
the body’s internal homeostasis. Selye conducted an experiment that describes the findings of a
series of experiments on rats where he identified the three distinct stages of GAS. The first stage
which occurs shortly after the stressful event is the alarm reaction stage and that is followed by
the resistance stage where the body resists the impact of stressful stimulus during the body’s
Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) hence if the stress continues, the exhaustion stage occurs
where the body fails to cope with the distressing stimulus. The researchers take use of Hans
Selye’s
theory of General Adaptation Syndrome to explain how the body respond to stress. And since it
is found out that college life is more stressful than other school levels because of constant
demands on students to adjust and change, the theory would be beneficial to the researchers in
distinguishing the solution to the problem easily by first knowing the three stages explained
above.
 Figure 1. Schematic Diagram of Conceptual Framework of this study

The Effects of Stress on Academic Performance of Grade 11

Humanities and Social Sciences Students of Notre Dame Bago City
Campus

Dependent Independent
Variables Variables
Stress Academic
Performance

Sex SES Environment Final Average

Hypothesis of the study
1. There is a significant difference between the respondents in terms of their profile.
2. There is a significant difference between the effects of stress on the academic performance
towards respondents when grouped according to their final grade.

Definition of Terms
The following terms are defined conceptually and operationally as used in this study,
which are as follows:
Stress. Operationally, stress can be defined as a state of worry or mental tension caused
by a difficult situation. Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges
and threats in our lives. Everyone experiences stress to some degree (World Health Organization,
2023).
Sex. It refers to the physical state of being either male, female, or intersex (Cambridge
Dictionary, 2021).
Socio-Economic Status. It is defined as a measure of one's combined economic and
social status and tends to be positively associated with better health. This entry focuses on the
three common measures of socioeconomic status; education, income, and occupation (Wiley
Online Library, 2014).
Environment. It refers to a sum total of all the living and non-living elements and their
effects that influence human life (Byju, 2023).
Final Average. Operationally, final average refers to a number that indicates how high
you scored in your courses on average.
Academic Average. It is more commonly called a GPA; a student's grade point average
is calculated by adding up all accumulated final grades and dividing that figure by the number of
grades awarded.