AMBO UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCOLOGY
ANALYSIS THE CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND STRESS COPING
MECHANISMS AMONG AMBO UNIVERSITY 1ST YEAR STUDENTS

By: -
ADVISOR: -

RESEARCH PROPOSAL PAPER TO BE SUBMITTED TO AMBO UNIVERSITY,

INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF
PSYCOLOGY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE REQUIRMENT OF BACHELOR
DEGREE (BSc.) IN psychology.

FEBRUARY, 2023
AMBO, ETHIOPIA
 AMBO UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF NATURAL SCIENCE

DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY

ANALYSIS THE CAUSES, CONSEQUENCES AND STRESS COPING

MECHANISMS AMONG AMBO UNIVERSITY 1ST YEAR STUDENTS

RESEARCH PROPOSAL PAPER TO BE SUBMITTED TO AMBO UNIVERSITY,

INSTITUTE OF EDUCATIONAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT OF
PSYCOLOGY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE REQUIRMENT OF BACHELOR
DEGREE (BSc.) IN psychology.

BY:

ADIVSOR:

APPROVED BY

NAME SIGNATURE DATE

_________________ ____________________ ____________

________________ _____________________ _____________

FEBRUARY, 2023

Ambo ETHIOPIA

i
ACKNOWLEDGMENT

First and for most, I would like to thank the almighty God, for every success I have seen in my
life and I would like to thanks Ambo University, Department of Psychology for giving this
chance. Next I would like to express my special appreciation and deepest gratitude to my senior
essay advisor ___________ (MSc.) for their patience, valuable advice, useful comments and
suggestions starting from title selections to the present research development. Finally, I would
like to appreciate all respondents for their willingness who will contribute to the study by being
source of necessary data and information.

ii
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE..........................................................................................................................................1
1. INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................1
1.1 Background of the study..............................................................................................................1
1.2 Statements of the problems................................................................................................................2
1.3 Research Questions............................................................................................................................3
1.4 Objectives of The study.....................................................................................................................3
1.4.1 General Objective.......................................................................................................................3
1.4.2 Specific Objectives.....................................................................................................................3
1.5 Significance of the Study...................................................................................................................4
1.6 Limitation of the Study......................................................................................................................4
1.7 Operational Definitions.....................................................................................................................4
CHAPTER TWO.........................................................................................................................................6
2. RELATED LITERATURE REVIEW.....................................................................................................6
2.1 The concepts of Stress.......................................................................................................................6
2.2 Sources, Symptoms and Effects of Stress..........................................................................................6
2.3 Ways of Coping With Stress..............................................................................................................7
CHAPTER THREE...................................................................................................................................13
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY......................................................................................13
3.1 Research Design..............................................................................................................................13
3.2 Procedures.......................................................................................................................................13
3.3 Participants......................................................................................................................................14
3.4 Instruments......................................................................................................................................14
3.5 Ethical considerations......................................................................................................................15
4. WORK PLAN......................................................................................................................................16
References.................................................................................................................................................18

iii
 CHAPTER ONE

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study

1.1.1 Stress

Stress affects people from all walks of life regardless of age, gender, civil status, political
affiliation, religious belief, economic status and profession. It affects decision-makers such as the
politician, the manager, the priest or pastor, the employee, the housewife, the student, the out-of
school- youths, the driver, and even the jobless. Stress is found everywhere, that is, at home, with
friends, in the office, in school, in the classroom. It is just around the corner. It simply cannot be
avoided because it is part of being human. In fact, a lot of people experience stress every day. It
could be brought about by many factors. The causes and levels of stress may vary from one
person to the other. No person is free from stress, regardless of how privileged, reasonable,
clever, and intelligent he may be. Every person will be challenged at times by frustrations,
losses, changes and conflicts.

To understand one’s stress, Blona (2005) pointed out that one needs to know what it is, and its
causes, in order to cope with it well. He defined stress as any event or circumstance that strains
or exceeds an individual’s ability to cope. Ellison (1990) considered stress as a biochemical
response by the body to a threatening situation.

The school is one place where a lot of people converge on a regular basis. It is a fact that when
people come together, stress is bound to happen one way or the other. The Administration may
be stressed with the low turn-out of enrollment or the need to generate more funds to finance
important capital outlays. The causes of stress for teachers vary, such as lack of preparation,
family and financial problems, absentee and, sub-par students, among others. Students also
experience their own stressors. The common causes of their stress include their academic
subjects, requirements and projects, oral and written examinations, unannounced quizzes and

1
graded recitations, finances, issues with parents or guardians, love life, their professors and
instructors, and many more.

Blona (2005) claims that students experience stress since some are trying to cope with the
demands of adapting to a new living environment, new peers, academic pressure, and sexual
concerns. Being in college can also put financial stress on the students and their families. These
situations can leave them with trembling hands, tense muscles, migraine, headache, and multiple
other symptoms of stress. These can contribute to a host of chronic diseases ranging from
hypertension to peptic ulcers that can predispose them to premature disability and even death.
Stressors are demands made by the internal or external environment that upset the balance of a
person, thus affecting the physical and psychological well-being of the person and thus would
require appropriate action if one is to restore that balance. At one point stress was considered to
be a transactional phenomenon dependent on the meaning of the stimulus to the perceiver.

Thus, stress is not an ordinary thing that may be set aside and ignored. Giving utmost attention to
it from the very start of the symptoms is necessary and taking proper action is a must to avoid its
worst effects.

1.2 Statements of the problems

To maintain its academic standing, LNU aims to attain its mission and vision by upgrading and
maintaining its standards as Center of Excellence (COE), and provide an environment conducive
to serious study and research as well as tolerance, openness, and respect for ideas and opinion of
others (Student Handbook, 2001).

To achieve these, LNU would time and again review and upgrade its curriculum and require
dedication, focus, and the adaption of new teaching strategies from its professors. The students
are likewise expected to exert their best effort and perform above their own expectations to
survive university life as the academic requirements, projects and other assignments are so
numerous and at times almost impossible to accomplish. All these can cause stress on a student.

Generally, students at all levels experience some forms of stress depending on their academic
workload and environment. Students of UEW, including those at the Winneba campus,

2
frequently complain about heavy academic work load, especially when they have to combine
academic and extra-curricular activities.

Most of these students are married men and women who travel home to attend to family needs
when the least opportunity avails itself. Apart from this, students, especially those who are away
from home for the first time, experience a lot of pressure in their effort to adapt to university life
and life at Winneba in general.

Usually, students show stress induced behaviors in the middle of the semester when academic
work coupled with other demands cause them to break down physically and emotionally.
Interactions with nurses and the administrative assistant at the UEW clinic indicate that most
students who visit the university’s clinic complain of headaches and sleeplessness which are
symptoms of stress. Such a situation calls for an investigation to identify the coping strategies
that students of UEW adopt to manage stressful situations in the academic environment. Science
students. It also tested assumptions that there is disparity in the causes of stress, the effects of
stress, and the stress coping mechanisms between the male and female Political Science students.

1.3 Research Questions

The study was guided by the following questions:

1. What are the causes of stress among students?

2. To what extent are the coping strategies of students at Ambo University 1 st year?
3. What are the techniques to deal with the stress?

1.4 Objectives of The study

1.4.1 General Objective

The general objectives of the study will to Analysis the Causes, consequences and stress coping
mechanisms among Ambo University 1st year Students

1.4.2 Specific Objectives

The following specific objectives of the study are

1. To identify the causes of stress among students

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2. To what extent are the coping strategies of students at Ambo University 1 st year?
3. To identify techniques to deal with the stress

1.5 Significance of the Study

Apart from knowing the stress coping strategies adopted by the students at Ambo University, the
findings from the study will help the University management, administration and counseling unit
to recommend the appropriate counseling services for the students. This study will be a source of
information for researchers, students and social workers.

1.6 Limitation of the Study

The study will mainly focus on investigating the stress coping strategies adopted by students at
Ambo University 1st year Students.

1.7 Operational Definitions

Operational definitions of coping strategies used in the study are as follows:

AC (active coping): Taking steps to try to remove the stressor to improve its effects by initiating
direct action, increasing one’s efforts and trying to cope in a systematic way;

P (planning): Thinking about how to cope with a stressor by drawing action strategies, thinking
about what steps to take and how best to handle the problem;

SCA (suppression of competing activities): Suppressing involves competing activities with the
view of concentrating more fully on the challenge or threat at hand;

RC (restraint coping): Waiting until an appropriate opportunity to act presents itself, holding
oneself back, and not acting prematurely;

SSSIR (seeking social support for instrumental reasons): Seeking advice, assistance or
information on the problem at hand;

SSSER (seeking social support for emotional reasons): Getting moral support, sympathy or
understanding on a problem at hand;

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PRG (positive reinterpretation and growth): Managing distress emotions, rather than dealing
with the stressor per semester;

(Acceptance): Accepting the reality of a stressful situation;

(Denial): Refusal to believe that the stressor exists or trying to act as though the stressor is not
real;

MD (mental disengagement): Using alternative activities, such as games, exercises, watching

movies and drinking alcohol to take one’s mind off a problem.

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 CHAPTER TWO

2. RELATED LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 The concepts of Stress

Stress, according to Anspaugh et al. (2003), affected the life of everyone. This means that
students, teachers, business people, parents, athletes and children, among others, live with stress.
In their view, it is a misconception to see stress as an enemy since stress is often neither positive
nor negative. They continue that how people deal with or react to stress is what determines its
effect on their lives. The way we react to stress therefore seems to be more important than the
stress itself. Stressors, in the opinion of Anspaugh et al. (2003) are any physical, psychological,
or environmental event or condition that initiates the stress responses. To them, stress which
results in positive responses is known as “eustress”, while those which end up with negative
responses are termed distress.

2.2 Sources, Symptoms and Effects of Stress

Anspaugh et al. (2003) contended that most stressful situations fall into harm-and-loss situations,
threat situations or challenge situations. Instances of harm-and-loss situations are the death of a
loved one, loss of personal property, physical assault and injury, and severe loss of self-esteem.
Threat situations may be real or perceived and can range from being caught in traffic to being
unable to perceive an event. Threatening events dwell on the ability of the individual to deal with
day to day activities. Threat stressors result in anger, hostility, frustration or depression.
Challenge situations promote either growth or pain, and these stressors mostly involve major life
changes which include taking a new job, attending a new school, graduating from college,
leaving home and getting married. Challenge situations are usually seen as being good but
involve stress, because they disrupt homeostasis and require considerable psychological and
physical adjustment.

Stoppler (n. d.) is of the view that manifestation of excess or poorly managed stress can be
extremely varied and that, while it has been reported by many people that stress brings about
headaches, sleep disturbances, feelings of anxiety or tension, anger or concentration problems,

6
others complain of depression, lack of interest in food, and increased appetite, among others. In
severe cases, Stoppler (n. d.) pointed out that individuals experienced loss of interest in normal
activities.

According to Riches (1994) as cited in Arikewuyo (2000), the symptoms of stress could be
internal or external. Internal symptoms may include experiencing headaches, being moody and
feeling sick, while external symptoms may involve throwing things, shaking with rage, and
weeping. Riches (1994) opined that it waspossible for many people to experience different levels
of stress even under the same conditions. Hansen (1986) also intimated that the symptoms of
stress could be behavioral which included feeling of weakness and faintness, snapping at
colleagues, not listening to others, doing things hurriedly, losing personal possessions, feeling of
being dominated by time, feeling oppressed by imagined peer, academic and administrative
demands.

The physiological signals of stress outlined by Adegoroye (1995) as cited in Arikewuyo (2000)
included high blood pressure, shaky nerves and intolerance to heat, backaches, anxiety and
failure in sexual performance.

These symptoms, as indicated by Uguru-Okorie (1997), might show up in abnormal functioning

at the workplace which could be seen in constant lateness to work, sloppiness, absenteeism, staff
turnover, feeling of not being appreciated, and decrease in quality and levels of productivity.
Atindanbila (2006) pointed out that setting very high standards, lack of requisite skills and
suppressing workers’ assertiveness were some factors that triggered stress. He continued that
about 70% of absenteeism and about 90% of mistakes at the workplace were due to stress.

2.3 Ways of Coping With Stress

According to Anspaugh et al. (2003), all events in life brought about a reaction, but there were
varied ways through which people reacted or responded to them. To them, coping with stress is
the attempt to manage or deal with stress. In their view, coping does not necessarily result in
success. They comment that successful coping includes becoming aware of incidents and
situations that one perceives as being stressful, and recognizing stressors means being aware of
how your body responds to stress. To Anspaugh et al. (2003) dealing successfully with stress
might require using different types of techniques.

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In studying the process of coping with stress, a measure, known as “Ways of Coping” was
developed (Folkman & Lazarus, 1985). Embedded in the “Ways of Coping”, according to
Carver, Scheier, and Weintraub,

(1989), is a distinction between two main styles of coping namely, problem-focused coping and
emotion-focused coping. Problem-focused coping seeks to solve problems or change the source
of stress. On the other hand, emotion-focused coping aims to reduce or manage the emotional
distress associated with the situation. Folkman and Lazarus (1980) as cited in Carver et al.
(1989) are of the opinion that even though most stressors elicit both types of coping, problem-
focused coping tends to predominate when individuals feel that something constructive could be
done. Emotion-focused coping tends to predominate when people feel that the stressor must be
endured.

Moos (1986) as cited in Carver et al. (1989) pointed out that the interest in the process of coping
with stress had grown dramatically. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) as cited in Carver et al. (1989)
argued that stress was made up of three processes, namely, primary appraisal, which was the
process of perceiving a threat to oneself, secondary appraisal which was the process of bringing
to mind a potential response to the threat, and coping, which talked about the process of
executing that response. In the view of Lazarus and Folkman (1984): Even though these three
processes are easily described as linear sequence, they do not occur in an unbroken stream.

Thus, the outcome of one process may bring about a preceding process and that the entire set of
processes may repeatedly cycle in a stressful transaction. (p. 267)

Miller (1982) in suggesting ways of coping with stress indicated that relaxation, breathing,
refuting illogical or irrational ideas, assertiveness, time management, maintaining good nutrition,
exercise, recreational activities and changing usual routines could go a long way to help people
manage stressful situations they went through. Ansah (2006) also pointed out that professional
counseling should be introduced to reduce stress andtension which impacted negatively on
productivity. In a study conducted by Amran et al. (n. d.), it was found out that B.Ed TESL
(teaching English as a second language) Foundation Cohort 3 students preferred emotion-
focused style (overall mean of 3.47) of coping with stress to problem-focused style (overall mean
of 3.35). Under the problem-focused style, they realized that the strategy most used was

8
accepting responsibility, while the least used was confronted coping. They concluded that the
students coped with stress by acknowledging their roles in the problem. Under the emotion-
focused style, Amran et al. (n. d.) found that positive reappraisals strategy was the most used
while the least strategy used was escape-avoidance. It was concluded from their study that
students managed stress by creating a positive meaning in terms of personal growth and feeling
that the stress they went through could change them in a good way.

2.4 Gender differences in coping

A study named Adolescent life events, stress and coping conducted by Plunkett (2000), indicate
different rates of depression, anxiety and well-being which emerge in adolescence between boys
and girls have been attributed to gender differences in coping styles. Young women have been
reported as having the highest rate of depression and anxiety and poorer perceptions of well-
being. Female adolescence are more prone to seek peer and institutional social support at times
of stress. Emotion venting, acceptance, religion and positive reinterpretation, together with
wishful thinking and consumptive habits, such as shopping and eating have been indicated as
more frequently used coping strategies in young women.

Another study, Adolescent least able to cope (Frydenberg, 2004), indicates male adolescents
have been found to show a stronger preference for using humour, alcohol and drugs, sporting
activities, hobbies and diversions as coping strategies. They are also more prone to present
themselves as stable and hard to irritate. Gendered socialization patterns and structural influences
on sources of stress may also contribute to the development of different coping styles in males
and females. Male coping strategies which tend towards distraction and alcohol use may in turn
be associated with higher rates of aggression, alcoholism and substance abuse. Hormonal factors
may also contribute to higher rates of reported depression in women.

2.10 Adolescence and stress

Lay usage of the term ‘adolescence’ often refers to the teenage years from ages 13 to 19.

According to McNamara (2000) adolescence may be defined as ‘the period of transition from
childhood to maturity with universal changes in morphology, physiology and cognitive ability’
(p.30). It is characterized by rapid processes of change in social and psychological functioning

9
and marked physical growth. Few developmental periods (excluding infancy) feature the same
degree of change on many levels. These levels include changes due to pubertal development,
changes in emotions, values and behavior, self-image, school transitions and emergence of
sexuality. Changes which occur in these domains are interrelated and occur in most societies.

2.11 Influences:

2.11.1 Influence of the family on adolescent

The pervasive influence of the family on the adolescent’s psychological and physical
development has received support. According to McNamara (2000), family stressors have been
reported to exert a strong negative impact on adolescent health. Family members tend to have
dispute concerning relatively trivial issues. These may include conflict over chores, relationships,
curfews and appearances. Despite the superficiality of many arguments, minor disagreements
can prove stressful for adolescents and parents and may lead to make serious conflicts.

2.11.2 Influence of the peers on adolescent

Peer groups are highly influential in determining the sources and outcomes of stressful life
events. It tends to provide social support but peer relations may also prove stressful. McNamara
(2000), believe that cliques emerging in early adolescence tend towards exclusion and social
prejudice and great importance is placed on issues of loyalty, confidentiality and generosity. A
lack of these qualities may disqualify the adolescent from the clique causing distress and
alienation.

2.11.3 Influence of the school on adolescent

In feeling unhappy at school can cause enormous stress to young people and it affects their
prospects for personal and career development. School stressors have been found to include
concerns over grades, teachers, homework and general worries about the future. According to
McNamara (2000), girls frequently cited more school stressors which include concerns over
grades, teachers, and homework and general worries about the future.

The author also believed that girls frequently cite more school stressors than boys but this often
decrease between the ages of 16 and 18 to a level comparable with boys. Parental pressure

10
towards scholastic achievement may combine with certain pressures generated by the school
environment itself. Hurrelmann (1992) found that poor school performance may enhance tension
that can interfere with satisfactory relations between adolescents

2.13 Sexual Stereotyping

According to Fontana (1989), there is no clear evidence as to which sex copes better with stress.
The reason for this is because individual differences and the range of potential stressors are so
great that crude divisions along sex lines are not also helpful. Sexual stereotyping emphasis
different kinds of stress upon the two sexes and also allows different kinds of stress response
from them. Women face far more stress in terms of poor status, uncertainty, powerlessness and
lack of variety (probably also time pressures). Men face more stress caused by unsociable hours,
conflict with colleagues. As far as responses to stress are concerned, women are usually allowed
more scope for tears, withdrawal, absenteeism and men more scope for anger and aggression.

According to Focus Adolescent Services (FAS, 2000), there are many things that can be done to
constructively dispel stress and that can be enjoyable at the same time. These are; exercise and
eat regularly, learn relaxation techniques like deep breathing, practice ways to state present
feelings without being overly passive or aggressive, learn to take breaks from stressful situations,
stop negative self-talk, build strong ties with friends and learn to feel proud when a task is
successfully completed (FAS, 2000). Taking hold of even a couple of these pointers might not
erase stress completely, but will help the feeling of control return. Fortunately, with control
comes relaxation and peace. However, more attention will focus on the above mentioned shortly.

2.15 Theoretical framework

Most approaches to coping research conceptualize a problem-focused and an emotional focused

aspect. The transactional theory of coping, conceptualized by Richard Lazarus and his colleagues
(Lazarus & Folkman; 1968, 1980, 1984, 1991, 1993, Dewe, 1993), is the most frequently cited
theory of coping. This theory is based on two theoretical frameworks. The cognitive
phenomenological theory, labeled as cognitive transactional theory and the emotion-focused
coping.

11
The world is experienced by an individual as containing the necessary to understand behavior.
The individual perceive the world in a unique way and their perceptions make up the
phenomenal field. The individual reacts to the environment as they see it. The concept of
transaction was developed to describe how variables of person and environment are combined
into new concepts. Cognitive activities termed appraisal were found to play a prominent role in
this approach. According to Lazarus and Launier (1978, p.302) appraisals consist of a
‘continuously changing set of judgments about the flow of events for the person’s well-being’.
One of the major principles of Lazarus’ theory of stress and coping is that the way a person
appraises an encounter determines how he or she will cope. Frydenberg (2004) also distinguish
between two appraisals, namely primary and secondary appraisal.

Primary appraisal relates the event to its significance for the person’s well-being and is
concerned with the motivational relevance of what is happening. There are three types of
primary appraisal, namely harm-loss, threat and challenge. All three types involve some negative
evaluations of one’s present or future state of well-being. Harm-loss refers to damage already
experienced and threat refers to harm or loss that has not yet occurred but is anticipated.
Challenge involves the potential for mastery and gain.

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 CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

3.1 Research Design

A survey design was used to conduct the study. This was the most appropriate method because a
more general viewpoint was needed in order to obtain an idea about the level of stress, coping
strategies and social support amongst 1st year University students.

The method used to gather information was a questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of a
booklet which was divided into three sections, focusing on the three aspects namely stress,
coping strategies and social support. Section one was a list of events, which occurs to people and
the participant needed to choose how good or bad the event was when it happened. It also
comprises of 43 questions. Section two focused on a specific stressful situation and how one
would cope. A Likert scale will be used and this section consisted of 37 questions.

Section three had two parts: Relationship with friends and Relationship with family. Participants
had to choose “yes or no” on 13 and 14 questions, respectively.

3.2 Procedures
Due to time constraints in conducting this study, the researcher could not cover all nine areas.
One area was selected using random sampling. After the selection process, an investigation was
done as to how many high schools were situated in that area (for example, Bonteheuwel). After
establishing the number of high schools, the names of each high school were placed in a hat and
three schools drawn randomly. This method ensured that each department will have an equal
chance of being selected.

After this procedure, department will be selected. There will be two classes (social) and natural
science departments and due to time constraints, only one of the class (social science) will be
taken part in the study.

This will be done to determine whether the participants struggled in understanding the questions
in the questionnaire, whether the questionnaire was to long or short, how long the participant
13
took in completing the questionnaire, so that one could negotiate time when the actual
questionnaire had to be completed, if need be. The pretest took a couple of hours because only
one specific day will be given to complete this process.

3.3 Participants
The questionnaires were distributed among 210 grade 11 students. From each of the three
historically disadvantaged high schools, only 2 classes (which consisted of 35 students per class=
70 students per school) were selected to conduct the current research.

First year Social science will be selected by means of random sampling. In total, 196 participants
took part in the study, where 32 (16%) were female and 164 (84%) male.

3.4 Instruments
3.4.1. Stress

The Adolescent Perceived Events Scale (APES) was used to measure stress. The scale comprises
of 43 items providing a comprehensive list of major events (e.g. death of a relative) as well as
daily stressors (e.g. taking care of younger siblings) in the lives of adolescents. Respondents
indicate those events which have occurred and rate these events on 4-point Likert Scale for their
desirability (+1= good, +2= very good, -1= bad and -2= very bad).

The scoring of the Adolescent Perceived Event Scale (APES) for this particular study will be
done by conducting a simple count of the events appraised as negative by the respondents and
then calculating the mean stressfulness of these negative events. This method will be employed
in order to determine the impact of negative stressful events of the sample.

3.4.2 Coping strategies

In measuring the coping strategies, the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ) will be used.
According to Lazarus and Folkman (1980) coping can be defined as the constantly changing
cognitive and behavior efforts used to manage specific external and/or internal demands that are
appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person. The scale will be used to
investigate the role of coping in the relationship between stress and adaptation outcome. It
assesses thoughts and actions used to cope with stressful encounters. It tends to measure the

14
coping processes not dispositions or styles. It is however, not advisable to use this scale to
measure general traits but to relate it to specific stressful encounters.

3.5 Ethical considerations

The purpose of the study will be explained to the principals of the high schools, class
coordinators and the subjects of the study. Permission to conduct research will be gained from
the Department of Education and from the participating school’s principals.

Informed consent will be obtained from the parents/guardian of the student through writing a
letter in asking permission. All the participants will be informed of the study, its aims and the
nature of the measuring instruments. Anonymity was stated in the letter, informing the parent
who would have access to the information. Access will be given to the Department of Education,
the school’s principals involved in the study and to Ambo University. Every participant also will
remain anonymous and this aspect will be clearly emphasized before administering the
questionnaire. To ensure this, participants were asked not to write their names anywhere on the
questionnaire. Every questionnaire was therefore treated anonymously. The researcher carried
out the study with respect and concern for the dignity and welfare of the participants.

15
 4. WORK PLAN
Table 1: Work plan

No Activity Duration of research time (2014/2015 E.C)/ 2022/2023 GC.

Apri Ma Jun July Aug Sep Oct Nov. Dec Januar
l y, e20 202 , 202 202 2022 202 y 2023
2022 202 22 2 202 2 2 2
2 2
1 Identification of
the problem
2 Proposal writing
3 Proposal
submission
4 Proposal defense
5 Correction after
defense
6 Questionnaire
preparation
7 Data collection
8 Data coding and
entry
9 Data analysis
and
interpretation
10 Research
submission
11 Research
defense

16
5. Budget and Logistics

Budget requirement for the implementation of this thesis work is summarized and presented
below in the form of categorical cost break down.
A. Logistic expenses
Table 2: Logistic expenses

No Description Unit Quantity Unit price Total price

1 Pen No 6 15 90
2 Pencil No 7 5 35
4 Buying of flash 32GB No 1 650 650
5 For printing proposal No 6 150 900
6 Printing questionnaire No 183 6 1,098
7 Printing Research No 6 180 1,080
8 Research binding No 4 200 800
Sub-total 4653

B. Personal expenses
Table 3: Personal Cost

No Description No. of days Quantity Payment/day Total (in

birr)
1 Trainer cost 2 1 150 300
2 Trainees cost 2 6 100 1200
3 Transport cost 25 1 150 3,750
4 Data collectors fees 7 6 100 4,800

17
Sub-total 450 500

Total Budget Summary = Total cost =14,703

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Cohen, S. & Hoberman, H.M. (1983). ‘Positive events and social supports as buffers of life
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Compas, E. (1993). ‘Promoting positive mental health during adolscence’, in S.G.

Millstein, E.O. Nightingale and A.C. Petersen Promoting the Health of

Adolescents: New Directions for the Twenty-first Century. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Cox, T. (1978). Stress. MacMillan Press: London.

Cox, T. & Griffiths, A. (1995). “The nature and measurement of stress: Theory and practice” in J
R Wilson and E N Corlett (eds). Evaluation of Human work.

Londen: Taylor and Francis.

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