KNOWLEDGE AND APPLICATION OF COPING

STRATEGIES AMONG STUDENTS IN ABIA STATE

UNIVERSITY UTURU.

BY

LEVI JENNIFER ADANNA

EXAM NO:………………………

DEPARTMENT OF NURSING SCIENCE

FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
ABIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UTURU.

MAY, 2024.

i
 KNOWLEDGE AND APPLICATION OF COPING
STRATEGIES AMONG STUDENTS IN ABIA STATE
UNIVERSITY UTURU.

BY

LEVI JENNIFER ADANNA

EXAM NO:…………….…………

DEPARTMENT OF NURSING SCIENCE

FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES
ABIA STATE UNIVERSITY, UTURU.

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE

REQUIREMENTS OF NURSING AND MIDWIFERY
COUNCIL OF NIGERIA FOR THE AWARD OF
REGISTERED NURSE CERTIFICATE.

MAY, 2024.

ii
 DECLARATION

This is to declare that the research project titled " Knowledge And Application
Of Coping Strategies Among Students In Abia State University Uturu” Was
carried out by Levi Jennifer Adanna and is solely the result of my work except
where acknowledged as being derived from other persons or resources.

Examination Number…………………………………………..

In the Department of Nursing Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Abia State

University Uturu.

Signature:…………………………………………

iii
 CERTIFICATION PAGE

This is to certify that this research project by Levi Jennifer Adanna with
Examination Number………………………….. has been examined and approved
for the Award of Registered Nurse Certificate .

..............................……….... ..........................................
Mr. Nwatu Solomon Date
(Project Supervisor)

`................................….… ..........................................
Dr. Mrs. Emeonye O.P Date
(Head of Department)

…………………………. ……………………………..
(External Supervisor) Date

iv
 DEDICATION

This research work is dedicated to the Almighty God, the Alpha and

Omega for his faithfulness, goodness and loving kindness and for how far he has

helped me.

v
 ABSTRACT

The study was designed and knowledge and application of coping strategies
among students in Abia State University Uturu was determined. A total of 100
undergraduate students were selected using random sampling to respond to self-
administered questionnaire. The questionnaire which was adapted to suit the study
was pre-tested to ensure that it elicited valid responses. The results of the study
showed that ABSU students had a reasonable knowledge regarding coping
strategies. Students used multiple strategies mostly use of internet and music to
cope with stress. Other important coping strategies included engaging in physical
exercise, maintaining healthy diet, yoga practice, support from family and friends.

vi
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

My earnest gratitude goes to Almighty God, for His guidance, protection

and strength towards the success of this work.

I wish to thank my supervisor Mr. Nwatu Solomon for his advice,

corrections and time which enabled me to successfully carryout this research

project. I thank the Head of Department, Nursing Science, Dr.(Mrs) Emeonye O.P

and other lecturers who made me what I am today by impacting knowledge to me

through their endless effort.

My sincere gratitude goes to my wonderful parents for their spiritual and

financial support. To my siblings thank you all for your advice and support. I will

not forget my friends, my gratitude goes to you all. God bless you all.

vii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page ii

Declaration iii

Certification/Approval iv

Dedication v

Abstract vi

Acknowledgement vii

Table of Contents viii

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Statement of the Problem

Objective of the Study

Research Questions

Significance of the Study

Operational Definition of Terms

CHAPTER TWO

LITERATURE REVIEW

Stress, Its Sources and Symptoms

Coping Strategies and Stress Management

Theoretical Framework

Empirical Review

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

Research Design

Research Setting

viii
Target Population

Sample and Sampling Techniques

Instrument for Data Collection

Validity of Instrument

Reliability of Instrument

Ethical Consideration

Method of Data Collection

Method of Data Analysis

CHAPTER FOUR

Presentation and Analysis of Data

CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS

Objective 1

Objective 2

Objective 3

Conclusion

Summary

Recommendation

Suggestion for Further Study

Limitation of the Study

References

Questionnaires

ix
 CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Students are a unique group of people who are passing from most critical

period of life in which they experience many stressful events. As the education

proceed to the higher level the students face more stressful event like more tough

course outlines, challenging work assignments and projects.

Stress has become part of students’ academic life due to the various and external

expectations placed upon their shoulders.

In today’s competitive world every student will feel the effect of stress at

some point of time in their life. Some students feel more stressed out in

comparison to the others but no one can completely roll out stress from their lives.

Thus stress is an unavoidable phenomenon in all aspects of human life. It is the

body’s non-specific response or reaction to demands made on it or too disturbing

events in the environment (Rosenham & Seligman, 2018, Selye, 2017) it is a

process by which we perceive and cope with environmental threats and challenges

(Myers, 2016). It can be explained in terms of sadness, worries, tension, frustration

which leads to depression which is temporary or may last for long. The presence

of stress depends on the presence of the stressor. Feng (2019) and Volpe (2016)

defined stressor as anything that challenges an individuals adaptability or

stimulates an individual’s body or mentality. Considering the holistic nature of

stress.

x
Not all stress is bad. Adaptive stress helps one rise to life’s challenges. Adrenaline,

nor-adrenaline and glucose into blood. Negative stress occurs when ability to cope

with life’s demands crumbles.

Stressors to students could include examinations, deadlines, poor time

management, overcrowding, parents or problems at home, difficulty in organizing

work.

Very often stress results from an accumulation of many different pressures which

build up gradually without us noticing.

Coping strategies

Lazarus and Folkman (2018) thought of stress as an interactive process

between the person and their surroundings, in which the influence of stressful

events on physical and psychological well-being is determined by coping. From

this widely accepted transactional approach, coping would come to be defined by

cognitive and behavioral efforts employed in response to external or internal

demands that the individual deems to be threats to their well being.

Coping strategies are psychological patterns that individuals use to manage

thoughts, feelings and actions encountered during various stages of ill health and

treatments.

Due to the detrimental impact of stress on health, students engage in

different coping styles to deal with stressors. Coping, is therefore, defined as an

array of conscious behaviors and mental efforts employed to deal with a stressful

event or the situation with the aim of minimizing its negative consequence

(Lazarus & Folkman, 2018) coping involves specific cognitive evaluation of

xi
whether an individual believes that he or she is capable of handling one stressful

situation. Coping can take different forms such emotion – focused coping in

which individuals focus on reducing the adverse emotional reaction and problem

focused coping in which the focus is on finding out a practical ways of solving

stressful situation (Lazarus & Folkman, 2018), also described as active and passive

(Jex, Bliese, Buzzell, & Primeau, 2001) or approach and avoidance (Anshel, 1996)

stress coping styles.

Statements of problem
In daily academic life, students were exposed to a wide range of

potentially stressful situations which could negatively affect their academic

achievement and their health. Among the factors that could be weakened by

academic stress, attention has been paid to expectations of self-efficacy, which

were considered one of the most important determinants for students engagement,

persistence and academic success.

Abia State University, Uturu students including those at the Umuahia Campus,

frequently complained about heavy academic work load, especially when they had

to combine academic and extracurricular activities. Most of these students were

married men and women who travelled home to attend to family needs when the

least opportunity availed itself.

Apart from this, students especially those who are away from home for the first

time, experienced a lot of pressure to adapt to University life and life at Uturu in

general.

xii
This prompted the researcher to carry out an investigation and identified the

knowledge and application of coping strategies among Abia State University,

Uturu students.

Objectives of the study

The specific objective of the study were to:

 Find out the level of knowledge of Abia State University, Uturu students

regarding coping strategies.

 To determine ways of improving the coping strategies among students of

Abia State University, Uturu.

Research Question

 What level of knowledge do students of Abia State University Uturu have

on coping strategies?
 What coping strategies did students of Abia State University use in maning
stress?
 What were the causes of stress among students of Abia State University,
Uturu?
 What were the causes of stress among students of Abia State University,

Uturu?

Significance of the Study

Apart from knowing the stress coping strategies adopted by Abia State

University Students, the findings from the study helped ABSU students broaden

their knowledge on coping strategies. It helped promote positive application of

coping strategies.

xiii
Operational definition of terms
Adaptive stress: Reacting to a stressful situation in a mature and healthy manner.

Copper: To deal with and attempt to overcome problems and difficulties.

Stress: Any type of change that causes physical, emotional or psychological strain.

Stressors: Something or a stimulus that causes stress

CHAPTER TWO
xiv
 LITERATURE REVIEW

Socio-demographic factors influencing the knowledge and application of

coping strategies among students

Stress, according to Anspaugh et al. (2015) affected the life of everyone. This

means that students, teachers, business people, parents, athletes and children,

among others, lived with stress. In their view, it was a misconception to see stress

as an enemy since stress is often neither positive nor negative. They continued

that how people dealt with or reacted to stress was what determined its effect on

their lives. The way we reacted to stress therefore seemed to be more important

than the stress itself. Stressors, in the opinion of Anspaugh et al. (2015) was any

physical, psychological, or environmental event or condition that initiated the

stress responses. To them, stress which resulted in positive responses was known

as “eustress”, while those which ended up with negative responses was termed

distress.

Stress comes in different forms to an individual’s daily life. Stress is a bio-

psychosocial model that refers to the consequence of failure of an organism to

respond adequately to mental, emotional or physical demands, whether actual or

imagined cited in Al-Sowygh, (2015). According to Akhlaq, Amjad and Mehmood

(2015), stress was seen as a psycho-physiological process, which resulted from the

interaction of the individual with the environment and resulted in disturbances

caused to the physiological, psychological and social systems, depending upon

individual characteristics and psychological processes. The individual

characteristics may include factors such as sex, health status, heredity, and socio-

economic background. Psychological processes refer to such factors as attitudes,

xv
values and various personality dimensions. (Gormathi, Kadayam,

Soofia&Ahmend, 2017; William et al., 2016).

For an undergraduate student, stress may be caused by failure in academic work,

financial problems, health problems, loss of a family member or friend and other

social problems (Hung & Care, 2016; Smith, Rosenberg, & Timothy Haight, 2015).

Such events that bring stress were called stressors and a sudden change in these

stressors may affect the persons’ physical or mental health. Studies conducted on

university students in the USA, UK and Saudi Arabia revealed high academic

workload, difficulty reading textbooks, family related problems, health related

problems and financial problems as most of the sources of students stress (Al-

Sowygh, Alfadley, Al-Saif, & Al-Wadei, 2015; Chao, 2016; Saklofske, Austin,

Mastoras, Beaton, & Osborne, 2017). These studies used regular undergraduate

students as their study participants who had varied background characteristics

compared to distance education studies who majority are matured and are in the

working class group. Distance education

students did not enjoy privileges such as access to library resources, computer

laboratories, students support services interactions with academic counselors

which make them disadvantage compared to regular and –campus students. Other

reported studies on stress among tertiary students (Akhlaq et al., 2014; Al-Sowygh,

Alfadley, Al-Saif, & Al-Wadei, 2015; Gormathi, Kadayam, Soofia Ahmend, 2017)

have grouped stressors among university students under a broad categories such as

‘self-efficacy beliefs’ (e.g. fear of failing a course or insecurity concerning

professional future); ‘workload’ (e.g. difficulty of class work, overloaded course

content), ‘faculty and administration’ (e.g. lack of input into the decision-making

xvi
process of school), ‘social stressors’ (e.g. financial responsibilities). All these

studies were done with mostly regular residential students on university campuses;

hence there is a gap to fill in the literature as to the sources and management of

stress among distance education students in developing context.

Theoretical Framework

Stress has different definitions related to formulated theoretical models. It can be

defined either as a stimulus, a response, or a combination of the two. The

definition of stress as a response was discovered by Selye, who defines stress as

the non-specific response of the body to any kind of demand. On the other hand,

Holmes and Rahes define stress as a stimulus without consideration to any

response, stating that stress is: “an independent variable stimulus or load produced

in an organism, creating discomfort, in such a way that whether tolerance limits

are surpassed, stress becomes insufferable, appearing then psychological and

physical problems”.

The definition that was most relevant to and could be appropriately adopted in this

study to explain the reality of nursing student’s stress during clinical practice was

Lazarus and Folkman’s theoretical framework. Based on Lazarus’ theory

regarding the difficulty in differentiating between response and stimulus as the

definition of stress, he conceptualized an apparent stress definition that could

reconcile differences between the separate theories of stress as a response or stress

as a stimulus. He defined stress as “A particular relationship between the person

and the environment that was appraised by the person as taxing and/or exceeding

his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being”. This was because it

described stress as a transactional relationship between the person and their

xvii
surrounding environment. Stress was not a singular facet, but rather arose due to

influencing factors that affected the individual and, in turn, impacted heir response

in such situations. For example, one of these stressful situations could occur

during students’ clinical practice once the students faced a new environment and

established new relationships with staff nurses, patients, and an instructor and/or

supervisor. Therefore, this study used this studying definition of stress to examine

students’ stress levels and their coping strategies in the university.

Empirical Review

Empirical evidence of the impact of stress on the individual has shown that

depending on the stress coping strategies of the individual, stress could be very

harmful to a person’s physical and mental health (Akhlaq et al., 2014; Al-Sowygh,

2015; Hung & Care, 2016; Smith et al., 2015). The effects of stress in the literature

stemmed from physical, psychological to behavioral problems. Some of the

physical problems of prolonged stress were hypertension, high cholesterol level,

ulcer, arthritis and heart diseases (Akhlaq et al., 2014;Johnson, Wasserman,

Yildirim, &Yonai, 2017; Ramos, 2017). Psychological effects of stress could be

anger, anxiety, nervous tension, depression, boredom. Direct behavior that may

accompany high level of stress include under-eating or over-eating, increased

smoking and alcohol use, and drug abuse (Esia-donkoh, Yelkpieri, &Esia-donkoh,

2016; Hung & Care, 2016; Ramos, 2017). The literature furthermore documented

that high levels of stress if not controlled could resulted into poor academic

performance, examination malpractices and incidence of improper behavior

among tertiary students (Rourke et al., 2017; Soliman, 2019). Hence, stress was an

important variable to include in designing students support services for distance

xviii
education programs. A detailed examination of Al-Sowygh’s (2015) study on

“perceived causes of stress among Saudi dental students” revealed some

significance differences in stressors using some background characteristics of the

students. There were statistical differences in stressors among male and female

students; first year and final year students. In Ghana, traditional gender-role

identification and living arrangement have established clear delineation of

households responsibilities which continue to passed down to children in the

family (Adu-Yeboah, 2014). It was generally held that married women had to

perform household chores like washing, cooking, caring for children. Furthermore,

cleaning the house were the responsibilities of married women while men had the

responsibility of providing for the home whether employed or unemployed (Adu-

Yeboah, 2014). Consequently, we posit that married people pursuing tertiary

education especially on distance could have higher stressors than their unmarried

counterparts. We, therefore hypothesised that there was no difference in stressors

among married and unmarried distance education students. This hypothesis is

supported by findings of some studies (Al-Sowygh, 2015; Kaufman, 2015; Reed et

al., 2016) that found differences in stressors among married/unmarried and

male/female students. The background characteristics of these students in the

studies in developed context are different from that of Ghanaian distance

education students in terms of socio economic background which gave space to

explore the hypothesis in a developing context.

Coping strategies to reduce stress is a necessary condition for preventing the

harmful effects of prolonged stress (William et al., 2017). Coping strategies

referred to the specific efforts that people use to master, reduce or minimize

xix
stressful event. Coping is multi-dimensional and involves various strategies of

which some were functional than others (Gnilka, Chang, & Dew, 2018). Chao

(2016) identified two important ways of managing stress; namely social support

and dysfunctional coping strategies. Social support such as seeking support from

families and friends naturally help people to manage stress. Dysfunctional coping

strategies include:

focusing on and venting of emotions; behavioral disengagement and mental

disengagement. Supporting this view of coping is what Lazarus and Folkman

cited in (Chao, 2016) identified as problem-focused ways of managing stress

referring to attempts to engage, act on, or change the perceived stress. The issue of

social support and coping had received considerable attention in the literature,

indeed, social support has been found to be related to problem-focused coping

(Soliman, 2019). This assertion was corroborated by Saklofske, Austin, Mastoras,

Beaton and Osborne (2017) who suggest that relaxation, exercises, maintaining

good health and time managements are some ways of managing stress. A study by

Sideridis (2016) reveals five most frequently used coping strategies by students;

browsing the internet, sleeping and resting, watching TV shows or movies, and

instant messaging.

Symptoms and Effects of Stress

Anspaugh et al. (2015) contended that most stressful situations fall into harm-and-

loss situations, threat situations or challenge situations. Instances of harm-and-loss

situations were the death of a loved one, loss of personal property, physical assault

and injury, and severe loss of self-esteem. Threat situations might be real or

perceived and could range from being caught in traffic to being unable to perceive
xx
an event. Threatening events dwelt on the ability of the individual to deal with day

to day activities. Threat stressors result in anger, hostility, frustration or

depression. Challenge situations promoted either growth or pain, and these

stressors mostly involved major life changes which included taking a new job,

attending a new school, graduating from college, leaving home and getting

married. Challenge situations were usually seen as being good but involved stress,

because they disrupted homeostasis and required considerable psychological and

physical adjustment.

Stoppler (n. d.) is of the view that manifestation of excess or poorly managed

stress could be extremely varied and that, while it had been reported by many

people that stress brings about headaches, sleep disturbances, feelings of anxiety

or tension, anger or concentration problems, 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 (2014) as cited in Arikewuyo (2016), 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 (2014) opined that it was

possible for many people to experience different levels of stress even under the

same conditions. Hansen 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

xxi
outlined by Adegoroye (2015) as cited in Arikewuyo (2016) included high blood

pressure, shaky nerves and intolerance to heat, backaches, anxiety and failure in

sexual performance.

These symptoms, as indicated by Uguru-Okorie, 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 (2014) 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.

Psychological symptoms of coping strategies among students

The mental health of university students has been a growing concern in recent

years (Milojevich and Lukowski, 2016). Various studies had demonstrated the

high frequency of psychological symptoms associated with this stage of education

(Blanco et al 2014; Kim et al., 2015), with stress being one of the psychosocial

problems that have become prevalent (Deasy et al., 2014; American College

Health Association, 2018; Gustems-Carnicer et al., 2019). In their daily lives,

university students had to face a wide variety of demands, both academic and non-

academic, that could affect their well-being. Academic demands included

adaptation to a new context, overwork, insufficient time to do their academic tasks,

preparation for and doing of exams, and the pressure to perform (Beiter et al.,

2015; Vizoso and Arias, 2016; Erschens et al., 2018; Webber et al., 2019). Non-

academic demands included change of where they live; the need to create new

social relationships; conflicts with partners, family, or friends; money worries;

xxii
and concerns about future work (Howard et al., 2016; Galatzer-Levy et al.,

2014; DeRosier et al., 2014; Beiter et al., 2015). Stress could bring with it significant

harm to the student’s academic performance (e.g., reduced ability to pay attention

or to memorize, less dedication to study, and more absences from class) (;Chou et

al., 2014 Turner et al., 2015), as well as to the student’s physical and psychological

health (e.g., substance abuse, insomnia, anxiety, and physical and emotional

exhaustion) (Waqas et al., 2015; Schönfeld et al., 2016). These harmful effects

have triggered interest in the identification of individual psychological resources

that could be protective factors against the inherent stressors of the university

context (Tavolacci et al., 2014). These resources would modulate the relationship

between the potential threats and the stress response, encouraging better

psychological adjustment (Leiva-Bianchi et al., 2015). Two of the most widely

studied resources are coping strategies and self-efficacy.

Coping Strategies

Lazarus thought of stress as an interactive process between the person and their

surroundings, in which the influence of stressful events on physical and

psychological well-being is determined by coping. From this widely accepted

transactional approach, coping would come to be defined by cognitive and

behavioral efforts employed in response to external or internal demands that the

individual deems to be threats to their well-being.

Despite the documentation of more than 400 coping strategies (Skinner et al.,

2016), they are generally categorized into two broad types (for a complete

categorization, see Zimmer-Gembeck and Skinner, 2016): approach (also called

active) strategies and evasive (or disengagement) strategies. Approach strategies

xxiii
involved cognitive and behavioral mechanisms aimed at making an active

response to the stressor, directly changing the problem (primary control) or the

negative emotions associated with it (secondary control). This category included

strategies such as planning, taking specific action, seeking support (instrumental

and emotional), positive reappraisal of the situation, or acceptance. Evasive

strategies were those which involved cognitive and behavioral mechanisms used

to evade the stressful situation, such as distraction, denial, and wishful thinking.

Based on this classification, there was a broad consensus that approach strategies

were related to good academic, physical, and psychological adjustment (Clarke,

2016; Syed and Seiffge-Krenke, 2015; Gustems-Carnicer et al., 2019), whereas

evasive strategies usually mean maladaptive consequences for the students

(Tavolacci et al., 2014; Deasy et al., 2014; Skinner et al., 2016; Tran and Lumley,

2019).

Self-Efficacy

Expectations of self-efficacy are a central element of the social cognitive theory

proposed by Andrea .This construct is about a person’s beliefs about their ability

to mobilize courses of action needed to achieve desired personal goals. It is,

therefore, a fundamental psychological resource for exercising control over events

in one’s life. In fact, self-efficacy was considered a powerful motivational,

cognitive, and affective determinant of student behavior, with significant

influence on their involvement, effort, persistence, self-regulation, and

achievement (Honicke and Broadbent, 2016; Ritchie, 2016; Zumbrunn et al., 2019).

These characteristics maked self-efficacy an important variable in controlling

stress (Sahin and Çetin, 2017; Lanin et al., 2019), and it was a protection factor

xxiv
against the impact of day-to-day stressors at university (Freire et al.,

2019; Schönfeld et al., 2016).

Although self-efficacy has commonly been characterized as an expectation that

was strongly linked to a specific task or situation, various studies have

demonstrated the existence of a more generalized belief—that is, general self-

efficacy—around perceived competence in the face of a broad range of demands

(Scholz et al., 2014; Feldman et al., 2015; Volz et al., 2019).

Current Study

The literature reviewed reiterated the importance of considering both coping

strategies and expectations of self-efficacy in protection against stress. However,

far from being independent resources, some studies had suggested that coping

strategies and self-efficacy were related. They postulated that coping behaviors

would influence an individual’s expectations of control such that self-efficacy

would be a mediator between coping strategies and the stress response (Zimmer-

Gembeck and Skinner, 2016).

Given that, our study aimed to examine the possible influence of coping strategies

on the expectations of self-efficacy in a population that is particularly vulnerable

to stress, university students. Some studies had shown a positive, significant

influence of approach coping strategies on self-efficacy in infant samples and in

adults with rheumatoid arthritis (Andre,2016). However, as far as we are aware,

there had been none in the university context.

The main contribution of this study lied in the analysis of student coping strategies

using a person-centered focus. Traditionally, research on coping strategies had

xxv
attempted to determine the suitability of a given strategy, evaluating the benefit or

harm that it produces for the individual. This variable-centered approach assumed

that certain coping mechanisms were universally adaptive or maladaptive, an

argument that had been called the “fallacy of uniform efficacy” (Bonanno and

Burton, 2014).

The very characterization of coping strategies as responses to a specific challenge

demonstrated their situational specificity. This has led in recent years to the

adoption of an approach based on the flexibility of coping, under the supposition

that a single individual could combine different strategies, using one or the other

depending on the specific situation they are facing (Eisenbarth, 2015; Kobylińska

and Kusev, 2019). In this vein, the benefits provided by approach coping strategies

are maximized if the individual employed problem-focused coping strategies (e.g.,

planning and seeking instrumental support) or emotion-centered strategies (e.g.,

positive reappraisal and seeking emotional support) based on the perceived

controllability of the stressor facing them (Cheng, 2015; Siltanen et al., 2019). In

contrast, people who were less flexible in their coping had a smaller repertoire of

strategies, which are less effective adjusting to the specific demands of the

situation (Cheng and Cheung, 2015).

Studying individuals’ profiles in light of the flexibility of their coping was

therefore adopting a person-centered focus (Laursen and Hoff, 2016), making it

possible to identify subgroups of students characterized by high internal similarity

in their repertoire of coping strategies, who differed from the way that other

students combined their strategies. An additional advantage over the traditional,

variable-focused approaches is that studying profiles of flexibility of coping made

xxvi
it possible to identify specific groups of individuals who could be prioritized in

the design of interventions .

Considering a perspective based on coping flexibility, the research question we

posed in this study was whether the different student profiles—in the way they

combined their coping strategies—would be related to significantly different

levels of general self-efficacy. In the university context, various studies have

demonstrated that, in comparison to those with less flexible profiles, students who

are more flexible in their coping demonstrate lower vulnerability to stress (Cheng,

2015 Kato, 2016; Doron et al., 2014; González Cabanach et al., 2018) and to

depressive symptomatology (Gabrys et al., 2018; Hasselle et al., 2019), as well as

greater psychological well-being (Freire et al., 2019). Based on that research, our

hypothesis was that students who exhibited a more flexible profile of strategies

demonstrated significantly higher levels of self-efficacy than less flexible students.

Assuming that in the young population the use of approach coping strategies was

more typical (Cheng et al., 2015), in our study, we examined coping profiles based

on the combination of three approach strategies that were very common in

educational contexts (Skinner et al., 2016): a primary control (planning), a

secondary control (positive reappraisal), and a mixed type (seeking instrumental

and emotional support). Similarly, given the extensive and varied range of

demands faced by students in their daily lives (both academic and non-academic),

we examined their level of general self-efficacy. Finally, in this study, we also

tried to control for the effects of the variables gender, university year, and degree

type. It would seem that men reported higher levels of self-efficacy than women,

with this difference emerging at the end of adolescence (Huang, 2015). It may also

xxvii
be the case that students in their first year of university, because of their

inexperience, had lower levels of self-efficacy than students with more academic

experience (Honicke and Broadbent, 2016). As for the type of course, scientific

disciplines have been related to lower levels of self-efficacy (Findley-Van

Nostrand and Pollenz, 2017).

CHAPTER THREE

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This chapter dealt with the following; Research Design, Research Setting, target

population, sample/Sampling Technique, Instrument for Data Collection,

xxviii
Validity/Reliability of Instrument, Ethical Consideration, Method of Data

Analysis

Research Design

The research study was non experimental in which descriptive survey method was

used together with facts and figures concerning the knowledge and application of

coping strategies among students in Abia State University, Uturu

Research Setting

A cross-sectional study was conducted at Abia State University, Uturu for 2

months (March, to April 2024) at different faculties in the university including

department of nursing. The faculties delivered a bachelor in many disciplines as

well as degree in nursing.

Target Population

The populations for this study were under graduate student in different department

in Abia State University, Uturu. One hundred (100) students were selected for the

purpose of this study.

Sample /Sampling Techniques

The population sample comprised of all student in nursing department and other

departments at different levels during the study period.

xxix
Convenient sampling was used to collect data from students who were studying

during this study period.

Instrument for Data Collection

A structured questionnaire was used. The questions were interpreted and read by

the interviewer to those who did not have formal education. The survey questions

for the interview covered their knowledge and application of coping strategies

among students in Abia State University, Uturu.

Validity of Instrument

The questionnaire used for the data collected was submitted to the researcher's

supervisor for correction and validation. The supervisor made sure that the

questionnaire fully assessed and met he objectives of the researcher.

Reliability of Instrument

The questionnaire was pre tested using 20 students of the target group using pilot

survey and determined whether the question were acceptable, ask able,

answerable, analyzable, applicable and meeting the objectives of the researcher.

The instrument was retrieved and was analyzed to make the reliability of the test

instrument. Ambiguous words were avoided as this would make the questions

cumbersome to the respondents thereby affecting their responses.

Ethical consideration

Ethical approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of Abia State

University, Uturu. Students were given the information sheet to read and the

xxx
research’s purpose, significance, benefits were explained verbally. Students were

assured that their participation will be completely voluntary.

Method of Data Collection

Data were collected during the teaching hours in the university. All the students

were invited to participate in the surveys and questionnaires were distributed to

identify subjects in" their respective settings as aforementioned, after briefing

them about the study exercise and their consent gotten, a conducive environment

was ensured. The questionnaires were collected back after completion with the

aid of an assistant for the purpose of analysis by the researcher.

Method of data analysis

The analysis was based on information gathered from total number of respondents

which was one hundred (100). The data collections were arranged in table and

were analyzed using percentages.

xxxi
 CHAPTER FOUR

PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA

In this chapter the questionnaires that were distributed to the respondents was

analyzed. The questionnaire was made up of two sections. Section A contains

knowledge of coping strategies and section B contains application of coping

strategies, were analyzed using simple percentage. In other to further validate the

data obtained from these sections, the Chi Square test Statistic was employed to

test the hypothesis on the significance of the responses.

Table 1: Knowledge of coping strategies

RESPONSE CATEGORY
Strongly Strongly
S/N QUESTION Agree Disagree Total
Agree Disagree
Coping is to deal with tough 69 20 8 3
1 100
situation (69%) (20%) (8%) (3%)
Coping strategies include
19 58 19 4
2 meditation, listening to music, use 100
(19%) (58%) (19%) (4%)
of alcohol and drugs.
Losing sleep and worrying is a 27 63 8 2
3 100
positive coping strategy (27%) (63%) (8%) (2%)
0 5 84 11
4 All coping strategies are positive 100
(0%) (5%) (84%) (11%)
Negative coping strategies are
0 3 68 29
5 healthy diet, yoga practice, enough 100
(0%) (3%) (68%) (29%)
sleep

xxxii
Table1showed that 89% agreed that coping is to deal with tough situation. 77%

agreed that coping strategies included medication, listening to music, use of

alcohol and drugs. 90% agreed that losing sleep and worrying was a positive

coping strategy. 95% disagreed that all coping strategies were positive 97%

disagreed that negative coping strategies were healthy diet, yoga practice, enough

sleep.

90
80
70
60
Count

50
40 Strongly Agree
30
Agree
20
Disagree
10
0 Strongly Disagree
ve

…
…

e…

a…

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gh

is

os

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ith

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si

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ie
eg

w
al

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at
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str

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an
to

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ep
g

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is

in

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g

in

e
p
in

iv
Co

Knowledge of coping strategies

g
p

co

at
sin
Co

eg
ll
Lo

N
A

Fig. 1: Multiple Bar chart for knowledge of coping strategies

xxxiii
Table2: Application of coping strategies

RESPONSE CATEGORY

Strongly Strongly
S/N QUESTION Agree Disagree Total
Agree Disagree

I take medicine to help me relax 23 17 58 2

6 100
or sleep better (23%) (17%) (58%) (2%)

94 6 0 0
7 I put my trust in God 100
(94%) (6%) (0%) (0%)

I use alcohol or drugs to make 11 3 82 4

8 100
myself feel better (11%) (3%) (82%) (4%)

71 20 9 0
9 I use internet/music to relax 100
(71%) (20%) (9%) (0%)

When I have a question about the 58 36 6 0

10 100
situation, I search for information (58%) (36%) (6%) (0%)

I get irritable and take it out on 21 48 27 4

11 100
those around me (21%) (48%) (27%) (4%)

I engage in some type of physical 84 16 0 0

12 100
exercise (84%) (16%) (0%) (0%)

0 27 56 17
13 I eat more than usual 100
(0%) (27%) (56%) (17%)

31 67 2 0
14 I maintain a healthy diet 100
(31%) (67%) (2%) (0%)

Table 2 showed that 40% agreed to taking medicine to help relax or sleep

better .100% agreed to putting trust in God. 86% disagreed to using alcohol or

xxxiii
drugs to make themselves feel better.91% agreed to using internet and music to

relax.94% agreed to searching for information when they had a question.

100
90
80
70
60
Count

50
40
30
20
10
0 Strongly Agree
Agree
in e…

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al
a h usu e

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x

I m mo cal e…
an cis
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Disagree
st sle

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yp it o situ
us self

lth
re ex
I e ph n th
tru r
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t/m y
Strongly Disagree

m take t the
m lax

o
ne m

e o ut

at si
er ke
ut re

y
ou

n
a
I pme

ai
in m

ab

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ai
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et
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ed

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ag
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Ig

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ak

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se
It

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Application of coping strategies

Fig.2. Multiple Bar chart for application of coping strategies

TEST OF HYPOTHESIS

HYPOTHESIS 1

In other to test the hypothesis 1, the response from research questions from

section A (knowledge of coping strategies), were analyzed, using the Chi Square

Test Statistic, and the result was shown in table 4.

Ho: The respondents do not have Knowledge of coping strategies

H1: The respondents have Knowledge of coping strategies

xxxiv
RESULT

The results obtained from table 4 was used for testing hypothesis 1, which shows

the following:

P-value = 0.000

Level of Significance (5%) = 0.05

DECISION:

Since the P-value (0.000) is less than the Level of Significance at 0.05, we reject

the null hypothesis (Ho) and accept the alternative hypothesis (H1). Hence, we

conclude that,the respondents have Knowledge of coping strategies, which can

also be seen from the response category in table 1 and fig. 1.

HYPOTHESIS 2

In other to test the hypothesis 2, the response from research questions from

section B (application of coping strategies), were analyzed, using the Chi Square

Test Statistic, and the result was shown in table 6.

Ho: The respondents do not have good application of coping strategies

H1: The respondents have good application of coping strategies

RESULT

The result obtained from table 6 was used for testing hypothesis 2, which shows

the following:

P-value = 0.000

Level of Significance (5%) = 0.05

xxxiv
DECISION:

Since the P-value (0.000) is less than the Level of Significance at 0.05, we reject

the null hypothesis (Ho) and accept the alternative hypothesis (H1). Hence, we

conclude that, the respondents have good application of coping strategies, which

can also be seen from the response category in table 2 and fig. 2.

xxxv
 CHAPTER FIVE

DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS:

DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In this section, the responses obtained through the questionnaire distributed were

analyzed and the result of the analysis was discussed. We make use of the data in

sections A and B, knowledge of coping strategies and application of coping

strategies respectively to present the overall result of this work.

OBJECTIVE 1

At the end of the research, the level of knowledge of Abia state university students

regarding coping strategies was determined. The demographic data revealed that

89% of the respondents had a good knowledge on coping strategies. Many of the

respondents had a clear knowledge on coping strategies.

OBJECTIVE 2

91% of the respondents adopted good coping strategies. Hence, their need for

improvement of coping strategies was obtainable. As there was positive

knowledge and application of coping strategies.

OBJECTIVE 3

On the average almost all the students under consideration for this study showed

that they had good application of coping strategies.

KNOWLEDGE OF COPING STRATEGIES

The study comprised of the knowledge of coping strategies and application of

coping strategies. The knowledge of coping strategies in table 1, indicated that

69% (n=69), 20%(n=20), 8% (n=8) and 3%(n=3), strongly agreed, agreed,

disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively that coping is to deal with tough
xxxvi
situation. 19% (n=19), 58% (n=58), 19% (n=19) and 4% (n=4) strongly agreed,

agreed, disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively that coping strategies

included meditation, listening to music, use of alcohol and drugs. 27% (n=27),

63% (n=63), 8% (n=8) and 2% (n=2) strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed and

strongly disagreed respectively that losing sleep and worrying was a positive

coping strategy. 0% (n=0), 5% (n=5), 84% (n=84) and 11% (n=11) strongly agreed,

agreed, disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively that all coping strategies

were positive .0% (n=0), 3% (n=3), 68% (n=68) and 29% (n=29) strongly agreed,

agreed, disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively that negative coping

strategies were healthy diet, yoga practice, enough sleep.

APPLICATION OF COPING STRATEGIES.

The application of coping strategies in table 2, indicated that 23% (n=23),

17%(n=17), 58% (n=58) and 2%(n=2), strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed and

strongly disagreed respectively that they take medicine to help them relax or sleep

better. 94% (n=94), 6%(n=6), 0% (n=0) and 0%(n=0), strongly agreed, agreed,

disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively that they put their trust in God. It

could also be seen that 11% (n=11), 3%(n=3), 82% (n=82) and 4%(n=4), strongly

agreed, agreed, disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively that they use alcohol

or drugs to make myself feel better.71% (n=71), 20%(n=20), 9% (n=9) and

0%(n=0), strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively

that they use internet/music to relax. 58% (n=58), 36%(n=36), 6% (n=6) and

0%(n=0), strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively

that when I have a question about the situation, I search for information. 21%

xxxvii
(n=21), 48%(n=48), 27% (n=27) and 4%(n=4), strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed

and strongly disagreed respectively that they get irritable and take it out on those

around them. 84% (n=84), 16%(n=16), 0% (n=0) and 0%(n=0), strongly agreed,

agreed, disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively that they engage in some

type of physical exercise. 0% (n=0), 27%(n=27), 56% (n=56) and 17%(n=17),

strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively that they

eat more than usual. 31% (n=31), 67%(n=67), 2% (n=2) and 0%(n=0), strongly

agreed, agreed, disagreed and strongly disagreed respectively that they maintained

a healthy diet.

FINDINGS

Our findings from the data presented in table 1 and fig.1, for the knowledge of

coping strategies, showed clearly that many students of Abia state University

Uturu, agreed that they had knowledge of coping strategies while more students

disagreed that they had knowledge of coping strategies. On the other hand, the

data presented in table 2and fig.2, for the application of coping strategies, showed

that, on the average almost all the students under consideration for this study

strongly agreed that they had good application of coping strategies.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, it was believed that from the result of this research that the students

of Abia state University Uturu, had good knowledge and application of coping

strategies.

xxxviii
SUMMARY

This research was carried out and the knowledge and application of coping

strategies among students of Abia state University Uturu was determined. From

the overall result of this study, it was concluded that the students of Abia state

University Uturu, had good knowledge and application of coping strategies.

RECOMMENDATION

With reference to the overall findings of this research work, it is evident that

students of Abia state University Uturu, had good knowledge and application of

coping strategies. However, it was worthy to recommend that in future study on

this subject, effort should be made to increase the coverage (the sample size) in

other to have an estimated result that would be true representation as when the

entire population of students of Abia state University Uturu was considered.

SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER STUDIES

I suggest that similar research be conducted in all the Universities Nigeria, so that

knowledge and application of coping strategies among Nigeria Students could be

determined

LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This research was carried out among the students of Abia state University Uturu.

Hence, the result and findings of this research was limited to the population under

consideration. I encountered some difficulties in terms of time and financial

resources; consequently, I was limited to carry out this research among the

students of Abia state University Uturu, Abia State.

xxxix
 REFERENCES

Anspaugh, D.J., Hamrick, M.H. & Rosato, F.D. (2015). Wellness: Concepts and
Applications (5th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill.

Antindanbila, S. (2014). Meaning, causes and effects of stress. Counseling session.

Hansen, P. (2015). The joy of stress. New York: Andrews, McMed and Parker.

Mona, E., (2014). Stress Factors and individual characteristics among nursing
staff in psychiatric-in-patient care.

N.A., Hassan, N.H., & Say, W.L. (n.d). ways of coping with stress among B.Ed
(TESL) foundation cohort 3 students. Retrieved February 5, 2015 from
apps.emoe.gov.my /ipba/Research paper/stdntseminar/pg59to67.pdf.

Stoppler, M.C. (n.d.). Stress management. Retrieved February 1, 2014 from the
Cambridge handbook of psychology, health and medicine.

Taylor, S.E. (2016). Health psychology. Singapore: McGraw Hill in Vice-

Chancellors Annual Report & Basic Statistics.

Toto, B.A. (2014). Perception of stress and coping strategies by medical students
at King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Saklofsie, D.H., Austine, E.J., Mastoras (2017). Relationships of personality,

affect emotional intelligence and coping with student stress and academic
success: different patterns of association stress among Malaysian
University Students.

Hung, C., & Care. C. (2016). Coping strategies of students in Tawain experiencing
stress because of academic overload.

Chao, E. (2016). Research Managing Perceived stress among college students: The
Roles of Social Support and Dysfunctional coping.

APPENDIX I

xl
 QUESTIONNAIRES

Department of Nursing
Science,
Faculty of Health Sciences,
Abia State University Uturu.

Dear Respondents,

I am a final year student of the above-named institution carrying out research to

evaluate and assess the knowledge and application of coping strategies among
Abia State University Uturu Students.

Kindly and sincerely provide answers to the questions in the spaces provided.
Every information provided is highly confidential and strictly for academic
purpose.

Please be reminded that the information sought are purely for academic purpose
and will be treated with confidentiality.

Yours sincerely,

………………….
Levi Jennifer A.

QUESTIONNAIRE
xli
 Knowledge And Application Of Coping Strategies Among Students In Abia State
University, Uturu

Instruction: Please tick your honest response to the questionnaire items.

SECTION A: KNOWLEDGE OF COPING STRATEGIES

S/NO Question Strongly Agree Disagree Strongly

Agree Disagree
1 Coping is to deal with tough
situation
2 Coping strategies include
meditation, listening to music, use
of alcohol and drugs
3 Losing sleep and worrying is a
positive coping strategy
4 All coping strategies are positive
5 Negative coping strategies are
healthy diet, yoga practice,
enough sleep

SECTION B: APPLICATION OF COPING STRATEGIES

S/NO Question Strongl Agree Disagree Strongly

y Agree Disagree
6 I take medicine to help me relax
or sleep better
7 I put my trust in God

8 I use alcohol or drugs to make

myself feel better
9 I Use Internet/Music to relax

10 When I have a question about

the situation, I search for
information.
11 I get irritable and take it out on
those around me
12 I engage in some type of
physical exercise
13 I eat more than usual

14 I maintain a healthy diet

xlii
TEST STATISTIC FOR TEST OF HYPOTHESIS

The formula for the chi-square is given by;

where oi = observed frequency

ei = expected frequency

The computed is compared with the chi-square table value in other to take a

decision on each of the stated hypothesis.

The chi-square table value is given by;

,
where, (r-1)x(c-1) is the degree of freedom (df).

R = number of rows

C = number of column

df = degree of freedom.

0.05 = level of significance

xliii
Table 3: Knowledge of coping strategies(Question and Response Category)
Response Category
SA A D SD Total
Question Coping is to deal with tough Count 69 20 8 3 100
situation Expected
Count 23.0 29.8 37.4 9.8 100.0

Coping strategies include Count 19 58 19 4 100

meditation, listening to Expected
music, use of alcohol and Count 23.0 29.8 37.4 9.8 100.0
drugs.
Losing sleep and worrying Count 27 63 8 2 100
is a positive coping strategy Expected
Count 23.0 29.8 37.4 9.8 100.0

All coping strategies are Count 0 5 84 11 100

positive Expected
Count 23.0 29.8 37.4 9.8 100.0

Negative coping strategies Count 0 3 68 29 100

are healthy diet, yoga Expected
practice, enough sleep Count 23.0 29.8 37.4 9.8 100.0

Total Count 115 149 187 49 500

Expected
Count 115.0 149.0 187.0 49.0 500.0

Table 4: Chi-Square test for Knowledge of coping strategies

Chi-Square Tests

Asymptotic

Significance (2-

Value df sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 441.526a 12 .000

Likelihood Ratio 463.999 12 .000

xliv
Table 5: Application of coping strategies (Question and Response Category)
Response
SA A D SD Total
Question I take medicine to help Count 23 17 58 2 100
me relax or sleep better Expected
43.7 26.7 26.7 3.0 100.0
Count
I put my trust in God Count 94 6 0 0 100
Expected
43.7 26.7 26.7 3.0 100.0
Count
I use alcohol or drugs to Count 11 3 82 4 100
make myself feel better Expected
43.7 26.7 26.7 3.0 100.0
Count
I use internet/music to Count 71 20 9 0 100
relax Expected
43.7 26.7 26.7 3.0 100.0
Count
When I have a question Count 58 36 6 0 100
about the situation, I Expected
search for information Count 43.7 26.7 26.7 3.0 100.0
I get irritable and take it Count 21 48 27 4 100
out on those around me Expected
43.7 26.7 26.7 3.0 100.0
Count
I engage in some type Count 84 16 0 0 100
of physical exercise Expected
43.7 26.7 26.7 3.0 100.0
Count
I eat more than usual Count 0 27 56 17 100
Expected
43.7 26.7 26.7 3.0 100.0
Count
I maintain a healthy diet Count 31 67 2 0 100
Expected
43.7 26.7 26.7 3.0 100.0
Count
Total Count 393 240 240 27 900
Expected
393.0 240.0 240.0 27.0 900.0
Count

Table 6: Chi-Square test for application of coping strategies

Chi-Square Tests

Asymptotic

Significance (2-

Value df sided)

Pearson Chi-Square 707.321a 24 .000

Likelihood Ratio 744.455 24 .000

xlv
ANALYZING THE RESPONSES OBTAINED FROM THE

QUESTIONNAIRES

In this section, the responses obtained from the questionnaires distributed were

analyzed in other to test the hypothesis for this research work. The hypothesis was

tested using research questions in sections A and B. The analysis was done using

Micro Soft Excel and SPSS Statistical Software Version 20.

Ho, implies null hypothesis

H1 implies alternative hypothesis

DECISION RULE USING THE P-VALUE AT 0.05 LEVEL OF

SIGNIFICANCE

I) The null hypothesis is rejected, if the p-value is less than or equal to

the 0.05 level of significance.

II) The null hypothesis is accepted, if the p-value is greater than the 0.05

level of significance

xlvi