See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/358284117

Are extracurricular activities stress busters to enhance students’ well-being and

academic performance? Evidence from a natural experiment

Article · February 2022

CITATIONS READS

0 2,994

3 authors:

Mukesh H V Vrinda Acharya

Norwegian University of Science and Technology Manipal Academy of Higher Education
10 PUBLICATIONS 127 CITATIONS 2 PUBLICATIONS 116 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Rajasekharan Pillai
Manipal Academy of Higher Education
71 PUBLICATIONS 414 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Mukesh H V on 03 February 2022.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
ur
na
lo
fA
Are Extracurricular Activities Stress Busters to Enhance
Students’ Well-being and Academic Performance? Evidence
from a natural experiment
pp

Journal: Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education

lie
Manuscript ID JARHE-06-2021-0240.R3

Manuscript Type: Research Paper

d
Academic stress, coping strategies, student's wellbeing, extracurricular
Keywords:
activity participation, academic performance, Natural experiment
Re
se
ar
ch
in
Hi
gh
e rE
du
ca
tio
n
 Page 1 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 Are Extracurricular Activities Stress Busters to Enhance Students’ Well-being and
4
na
5 Academic Performance? Evidence from a natural experiment
6
7
Abstract
lo
8
9
10 Purpose- The stress-coping model is extensively studied in the academic context. Past studies
fA
11
12 have primarily focused on different coping strategies adopted by students to overcome
13 academic stress. However, an important question, how to equip students to cope with stress,
14
pp
15 was ignored. Drawing on stress-coping theory and the extra-curricular activity (ECA)
16
17 literature, the current study investigates the intervention of ECA participation on students'
lie
18
19
coping, academic performance, and well-being in a natural setting.
20
Design/methodology/approach – The study follows a ‘cross-sectional post-test only quasi-
d
21
22
23 experimental design’ using a natural experimental setting.
Re

24
25 Findings – The findings indicate that participation in ECA has a significant influence on
26
academic outcomes. Different types of ECA participation influence well-being, whereas time
se

27
28
spent on ECA positively affects academic performance. Further, our findings also indicate that
29
ar

30 involvement in ECA moderates the relationship between academic stress and coping.
31
ch

32
33
Practical Implications: The study results have practical implications for designing
34 interventional ECA to enhance students’ academic outcomes and well-being.
35
in

36
37 Originality/value – The study indicates the effectiveness of ECA participation in dealing with
38
academic stress and the development of constructive coping strategies. Hence, we advise the
Hi

39
40 academic administrators to integrate ECA in the academic setting.
41
gh

42
43
Keywords: Academic stress; Coping strategies; Students’ well-being; Extra-curricular
44 activity participation; Academic performance; Natural experiment
45
e

46
1 Introduction
rE

47
48
49 It is evident that academic stress is a crucial cause of poor academic performance (Amirkhan
du

50
51 et al., 2019; Ben-Zur and Zeidner, 2012), student dropouts (Walburg, 2014), and mental health
52
issues (Ribeiro et al., 2018). For instance, 36.5 per cent of the 54,497 US (undergraduate)
53
ca

54 students surveyed (ACHI, 2019a) and 41.9 per cent of 55,284 Canadian students surveyed
55
56 indicate that stress impacts their academic performance (ACHI, 2019b). Similar patterns are
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 2 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3 observed in other countries (Hurst et al., 2013; Ribeiro et al., 2018). Thus, academic stress is
4
na
5 identified as a ubiquitous factor hampering students’ overall development (Hurst et al., 2013;
6
7 Skinner and Saxton, 2019), and failing to address the issue of academic stress may even lead
lo
8
9
to detrimental outcomes like suicidal ideation (Khan et al., 2015) and severe mental health
10 issues (Lushington et al., 2015; Ribeiro et al., 2018).
fA
11
12
13 Nevertheless, in this crucial debate of academic stress and academic performance, the question
14 of how to help students develop the capabilities to deal with academic stress and develop
pp
15
16 constructive coping strategies remains unanswered (Skinner and Saxton, 2019). Studies on
17
academic stress among undergraduate students have primarily focused on measuring its
lie
18
19
20
impact on performance (Amirkhan and Kofman, 2018; Credé and Nichorster, 2012), well-
d
21 being, and retention (Ribeiro et al., 2018; Young et al. 2020). A slew of studies has also looked
22
23 at the role of coping in managing academic stress and improving students' performance
Re

24
25 (Amirkhan et al., 2019; Ben-Zur and Zeidner, 2012). However, there is ambiguity regarding
26
which coping strategy is applicable in the academic context (Sasaki and Yamasaki, 2007), and
se

27
28 past studies reported mixed findings on the influence of emotion-focused coping (Amirkhan
29
ar

30 et al., 2019). Moreover, there is a lack of intervention-based studies to understand the variation
31
and development of coping strategies (Frydenberg, 2019; Skinner and Saxton, 2019) in
ch

32
33 academic settings.
34
35
The academic context offers a unique setting to explore ECA's role in coping (Bartkus et al.,
in

36
37
2012). Past studies have examined the suitability of ECA participation as an intervention to
38
Hi

39 deal with academic stress (Buckley and Lee, 2018; Chan, 2016; Fredricks and Eccles, 2006;
40
41 Guilmette et al., 2019; Seow and Pan, 2014). The literature on ECA provides evidence of its
gh

42
43 positive impact on academic performance (Behtoui, 2019; Chan, 2016), well-being (Guilmette
44 et al., 2019), and enhance the employability skill (Jackson et al., 2021) . Although engagement
45
e

46 in ECA is regarded as a valuable tool to enhance coping (Guilmette et al., 2019), there is a
rE

47
48 dearth of empirical work on the influence of ECA participation within the framework of stress-
49
coping theory (Folkman and Lazarus, 1985). In particular, the impact of ECA involvement on
du

50
51 coping, academic performance, and well-being is unclear. Drawing on the conventional stress-
52
53 coping theory (Folkman and Lazarus, 1985) and the ECA participation literature, we intend to
ca

54
55 answer the ensuing question.
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 3 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 RQ1: What is the influence of ECA participation’s intervention on the traditional stress-coping
4
na
5 model in an academic context, where academic performance and well-being are outcomes?
6
7
Further, we also aim to ascertain the impact of different types of ECA participation and time
lo
8
9 spent on ECA and its effects on academic performance and well-being. By answering these
10
questions, we underline the role played by ECA participation by buttressing students to deal
fA
11
12
13 with academic stress and develop constructive coping strategies effectively. Our study
14 contributes to the extension of the stress-coping theory by applying interventional ECA
pp
15
16 participation.
17
lie
18
19
2 Theoretical frameworks
20
2. 1 Stress-coping theory
d
21
22
23 The seminal work on psychological stress and coping by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) is
Re

24
25 derived from the transactional model of stress. Stress is defined as “a particular relationship
26
between the person and the environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding
se

27
28
his or her resources and endangering his or her well-being” (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984; p19).
29
ar

30 An individual appraises all situational demands called 'stressors' either as a threat or challenge
31
to his/her well-being (Folkman and Lazarus, 1985). In order to overcome stressors, individuals
ch

32
33
34 use different coping strategies (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984). Coping strategies are categorised
35 into emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping strategies (Folkman and Lazarus,
in

36
37 1985). Emotion-focused coping refers to actions, thoughts, and strategies that administer the
38
emotional distress linked with stressful events. In contrast, problem-focused coping
Hi

39
40
41
emphasises obtaining information, planning, and handling conflicts to resolve or manage
gh

42 problems that impede goals and create distress. Coping is also assessed in the form of coping
43
44 style and coping behaviour, where style refers to an individual’s approach to thinking and
45
e

46 acting on stressors while coping behaviour is related to the individual's engagement with
rE

47
stressful events (Latack and Havlovic, 1992).
48
49
du

50
51 2. 2 Academic stress-coping and outcome
52
53 The extension of psychological stress and coping theory is widely studied in students’ context
ca

54 (Amirkhan et al., 2019; Amirkhan and Kofman, 2018; Credé and Nichorster, 2012), where a
55
56 student faces a wide range of academic demands causing academic stress. Ben-Zur and
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 4 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3 Zeidner (2012) have conceptualised academic stress as “those situational demands in an
4
na
5 academic setting (exams, meeting deadlines for assignments, social relations) that excise the
6
7 challenge or exceed a student’s coping resources (p. 713).” Whereas coping with these
lo
8
9
demands by a student is defined as the cognitive and behavioural effort put by a student, these
10 efforts are distinguished as emotional or problem-focused coping (Folkman and Lazarus,
fA
11
12 1985). Coping mediates between stress and academic outcome and enhances students' ability
13
14 to overcome academic stress (Amirkhan et al., 2019). Struthers et al. (2000) report that
pp
15
students who use problem-focused coping perform better in their academic studies and achieve
16
17 higher academic results. Credé and Nichorster’s (2012) meta-analysis identified the critical
lie
18
19 role of emotional-focused coping in determining performance and retention. However, Britt-
20
Lutter et al. (2017) found no relationship between academic grades and emotional-focused
d
21
22 coping. Thus, these mixed findings underscore the lack of information on coping strategies in
23
Re

24 the academic context (Amirkhan et al., 2019).

25
26 Previous studies have examined the influence of academic stress on multiple outcome
se

27
28
measures, including students’ psychological well-being (Lee et al., 2012), academic
29 performance (Struther et al., 2000), mental health (Lushington et al., 2015), school dropout
ar

30
31 (Walburg, 2014), and suicidal ideation (Khan et al., 2015). Young et al. (2020) indicate that
ch

32
33 positive psychological well-being intervention among students’ acts as a buffer against
34
academic stress. Empirical research by Oyewobi et al. (2020) has unfolded that coping
35
in

36 strategies mediate the relationship between academic stress and performance. However, no
37
38 study has focused on the impact of academic stress on overall academic outcomes, i.e.,
Hi

39
40 academic performance (grade) and students' well-being at the same time. Further, we posit
41 that academic performance and well-being complement each other and enhance students’
gh

42
43 overall academic development. Thus, we use the traditional stress-coping theory and intend to
44
45 test the impact of academic stress on students' academic performance as grade point average
e

46
(GPA) and well-being. Hence, we propose.
rE

47
48 H1: The coping strategies mediate between academic stress and students' academic
49
outcomes (GPA and well-being).
du

50
51
52 2. 3 Extra-curricular activity participation and academic outcomes
53
ca

54 Bartkus et al. (2012, p. 698) define ECA as “non-academic activities that are conducted under
55
56 the auspices of the school but occur outside of normal classroom time and are not part of the
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 5 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 curriculum.” The ECA constitutes of activities such as student clubs like societal development
4
na
5 clubs, scientific clubs, art clubs (music, debate, dance, theatre, and drama), environmental
6
7 clubs, sporting/recreational activities, religious groups, scouts, student council, and other
lo
8
9
social events (Bartkus et al., 2012; Idrissi, 2020).
10
The impact of ECA on students’ progress has been widely studied by educationalists,
fA
11
12
13 sociologists, and psychologists (Buckley and Lee, 2018; Lau et al., 2013). A study of middle
14 school students demonstrated that participation in ECA develops cognitive ability in terms of
pp
15
16 human rights, citizenship rights, responsibilities, and environmental sustainability by building
17
knowledge, skills, and attitudes (Idrissi, 2020). Past studies have also shown that participation
lie
18
19
20
in ECA increases the students’ employability (Jackson et al., 2021; Lau et al. 2013; Thompson
d
21 et al., 2013; Tran, 2017). Students’ ECA participation improves their GPA (Craft, 2012),
22
23 school engagement, and future educational aspirations (Fredricks and Eccles, 2006). Kulp et
Re

24
25 al. (2021) assert that students who participate in extra-curricular campus activities tend to have
26
higher cumulative GPAs than those who do not participate in the events. Therefore, based on
se

27
28 the shreds of evidence from the ECA literature, we propose that.
29
ar

30
31
H2: The academic outcomes (GPA and well-being) differ between the students
ch

32 participating (treatment) and not-participating (control) in ECA.

33
34
35 Involvement in ECA serves multiple goals in enriching the students’ experience. Participation
in

36
also enhances students' soft skills (Thompson et al., 2013), inculcating strong work habits,
37
38 encourage the teamwork (Putnam, 2016), improve creativity, self-promotion skills (Lau et al.,
Hi

39
40 2013), become independent, deal with authority, resource-rich peer networks, improvement in
41
social and intellectual skills (Covay and Carbonaro, 2010). Greater involvement in ECA is
gh

42
43 positively associated with academic performance and positive peer network enhancement
44
45 (Fredricks and Eccles, 2006). Yeon et al. (2021) observed the participation in volunteer
e

46
activities and other ECA improved the students' well-being. The study also reported the
rE

47
48
significance of time spent on voluntary activities to promote students' mental health and sense
49
du

50 of engagement. Students are more attracted to voluntary and career-related than sports or
51
52 community-oriented activities (Jackson et al., 2021). Students’ participation in skill
53
ca

54 development activities is significant in promoting their employability skills, whereas students

55 join the recreation activities solely for their mental well-being (Tran, 2017). The higher the
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 6 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3 number of hours involved in ECA, the stronger the feeling of belongingness and the increased
4
na
5 psychological well-being of the students (Knifsend, 2018). Further, past literature offers
6
7 limited information on the effect of different types of ECA engagement. Thus, building on this
lo
8
9
argument, we propose.
10
H3: The type of ECA participation and time spent on ECA participation significantly
fA
11
12
13 influence GPA and well-being among students who participate in ECA
14
pp
15 The current literature on academic stress and coping has overlooked intervention-based studies
16
17 (Skinner and Saxton, 2019). However, studies suggest that coping resources and participation
lie
18
19
in ECA improve the overall academic outcome (Guilmette et al., 2019) and diminish the
20 victimisation by violence among adolescents (Braun-Lewensohn et al., 2015). An empirical
d
21
22 study (Winstone et al., 2020) proposes that extraversion is significantly associated with both
23
Re

24 belonging and well-being and that engagement in ECA also mediates these relationships.
25 Guilmette et al. (2019) have reported that students’ past and present ECA involvements are
26
se

27 positively related to the goal of self-regulation strategies, which, in turn, are related to
28
29 significant academic success, emotional and psychological well-being. Similarly, Seow and
ar

30
31
Pan (2014) state that participation in ECA moderates stresses and academic performance.
ch

32
33 In contrast, Civitci (2015) has failed to indicate the moderating role of ECA in the relationship
34
35 between perceived stress and life satisfaction. Though there exists evidence indicating
in

36
participation in ECA as a remedy to deal with academic stress and develop coping among
37
38 students, there are limited efforts to conduct intervention-based studies. Hence, we propose to
Hi

39
40 examine.
41
gh

42 H4: The ECA participations moderate between academic stress and coping strategies
43
44 as well as moderate between academic stress and academic outcome (GPA and well-
45
e

46 being).
rE

47
48 3 The current study
49
du

50
The previous literature has enumerated different coping strategies adopted by students to deal
51
52 with academic stress, but there is limited evidence on enhancing coping strategies or equipping
53
ca

54 students to deal with stress. This is mainly due to the lack of intervention-based studies on
55
56 stress-coping and performance. Studies on ECA participation successfully established a
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 7 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 positive relationship with the performance and outcome of the students. However, little is
4
na
5 known about the intervention of ECA participation in the framework of stress-coping theory
6
7 in an academic context. Further, there is a lack of clarity on what type of impact ECA
lo
8
9
participation has on coping and academic outcomes (like GPA and students’ well-being). The
10 present study uses a quasi-experimental design in a natural setting with a treatment
fA
11
12 (participation in ECA) and a control group (without ECA participation) to address the research
13
14 gap. The study evaluates the treatment group to identify the effects of different types of ECA
pp
15
engagement and the duration of time spent in ECA participation on academic performance and
16
17 well-being. This is to facilitate an understanding of intervention of ECA participation on
lie
18
19 coping and performance. Evaluating the intervention with a control group provides evidence
20
on the effect of the intervention and quasi-experimental studies conducted in natural settings
d
21
22 without a controlled laboratory setting, which will have an advantage in terms of ecological
23
Re

24 validity and generalizability (Cook and Campbell, 1979). We also test the stress-coping model
25
26 against academic performance and well-being. The performance is assessed using objective
se

27
28
measures (academic performance, i.e., GPA) and subjective measures (well-being) to capture
29 a holistic view of student-centred outcomes.
ar

30
31
<<Insert figure 1 here>>
ch

32
33
34 4 Methods
35
in

36
4.1 Research design and approach
37
38
We test our hypotheses in a natural setting using the principles of a quasi-experimental
Hi

39
40
41
approach (Dunning, 2012). Our assumption of natural setting is based on two premises. First,
gh

42 our intervention (participation in ECA) takes place in a natural setting. Thus, it is ethically
43
44 inappropriate to alter the natural setting (Craig et al., 2012). Second, we cannot randomly
45
e

46 assign students under treatment and control groups (participation in ECA and non-
rE

47
participation in ECA) as participation is student-driven. We adopted a ‘cross-sectional post-
48
49 test only quasi-experimental design (Leatherdale, 2018), a form of the natural experimental
du

50
51 study. Leatherdale (2018) avows that natural experiments are appropriate for measuring the
52
53 intervention effect when randomised control trials (RCTs) are not possible. Though quasi-
ca

54 experiential studies are not as robust as RCTs, they can still offer valuable insights on the
55
56 intervention and the effect (Bonell et al., 2011). The application of natural experimental
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 8 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3 designs to assess students' behaviour in the higher education context is growing in numbers
4
na
5 (Loton et al., 2020; Odle et al., 2021).
6
7
The study was conducted in a large Indian private university. India houses the largest number
lo
8
9 of higher education institutions, with 1043 universities and a student enrollment of around
10
38.5 million in a year (AISHE, 2020). We have enrolled students pursuing professional under-
fA
11
12
13 graduation as a sample frame for the study. We also excluded first-year students from the
14 study, as our main aim was to understand the influence of ECA participation. First-year
pp
15
16 students may take time to be part of these activities (Amirkhan et al., 2019). Final year students
17
are also excluded as they undergo internship and field assignments. When contacted, it was
lie
18
19
20
found that final-year students did not actively participate in ECA due to their engagements in
d
21 routine academic requirements. Hence, we selected second-year students studying in the
22
23 fourth semester of the 2017-18 academic year with their age range between 19-22 as the
Re

24
25 sample frame for the study.
26
se

27 4.2 Sampling and Participants

28
29
The participants were selected for the study irrespective of their specialisation/majors. The
ar

30
31 university chosen for the study is located in the southern region of India and had 1862 second
ch

32
33 year/fourth-semester professional under graduation students in 34 classes during the time of
34
35 data collection in the year 2019. The students for the study have been selected from various
in

36
courses, including management, technology, and medicine. The selected university has ample
37
38 student diversity to represent the different parts of the country. Each class had 50 students
Hi

39
40 approximately. We followed a similar sampling method, followed by Amirkhan et al. (2019).
41
We requested the class instructors of 15 classes to allow our research team to survey for 15
gh

42
43 minutes during the lecture hours. We got due permission from 12 instructors—the data
44
45 collection procedure comprised briefing of research work followed by students’ due consent.
e

46
In the initial briefing, the students were informed about confidentiality, requested to participate
rE

47
48
voluntarily in the study, and also given an option of non-participation. The students were
49
du

50 informed to provide their roll numbers to obtain the GPA of the study participants later at the
51
52 end of the semester. Upon receiving consent from the students, the questionnaires were
53
ca

54 administered. We received 456 responses, out of which 433 were valid and used for the
55
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 9 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 analysis. Further, the consent form with students’ identification numbers was provided to the
4
na
5 college office for obtaining GPA at the end of the semester.
6
7
4. 3 Variables and measures:
lo
8
9
10 As suggested in the conceptual framework (figure 1), the current study considered academic
fA
11
12 stress as the principal independent variable. Coping is the mediating variable, and ECA is the
13 intervening variable (moderating). The study considered two dependent variables, GPA and
14
pp
15 well-being, to obtain an overall student outcome.
16
17
Academic stress (Independent Variable)
lie
18
19
20 We used the educational stress scale for adolescents (ESSA) developed by Sun et al. (2011)
d
21
22
to measure students' academic stress. The ESSA scale is primarily developed for adolescents
23 in high schools; further, upon necessary modification, it is also used for college students (Tran,
Re

24
25 2015; Sarma, 2014). The ESSA contains sixteen items divided into five subscales: pressure
26
from study, workload, worry about grades, self-expectation, and despondency. The scale
se

27
28
includes a five-point response from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The questions
29
ar

30 include, "I feel a lot of pressure in my daily study.” The ESSA has been widely used in the
31
academic context, including secondary and high school students (Deb et al., 2014) and
ch

32
33
34 Vietnam adolescents (Truc et al., 2012), with reliability scores ranging from 0.81 to 0.86.
35 Extra curriculum activity (intervening variable)
in

36
37
38 The heterogeneity in ECA is well acknowledged in past studies (Bartkus et al., 2012). The
Hi

39
past studies categorised ECA as sports clubs (Fredricks and Eccles 2006), recreation clubs
40
41 (Tran, 2017), social clubs (Thompson et al., 2013), student council, and cultural clubs (Lau et
gh

42
43 al., 2013). To align with the literature and the actual practice of ECA, we had a general
44
45 discussion about ECA's types with the students and their mentors. Based on the discussion and
e

46 literature, we categorised ECA into recreational activities (like music, dance, photography,
rE

47
48 adventure, sports, and debate clubs) and skill development activities (like, robotics,
49
mechanical, aeronautical, journalism, computer programming, and student administrative
du

50
51
52
clubs). Based on this information, the questions were designed to capture the ECA. The
53 following questions were asked: “Do you currently an active member of any student club?
ca

54
55 (Yes/No).” “If yes, name the student club.” “How many hours per week you actively spend
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 10 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3 on ECA.” We further divided the data into recreation and skill development activities based
4
na
5 on the club's name.
6
7
Coping (Mediating variable)
lo
8
9 The coping strategies inventory short form (CSI-SF) developed by Addison et al. (2007)
10
measured engagement and disengagement coping. That includes four subscales with four
fA
11
12
13 items in each: problem-focused engagement, problem-focused disengagement, emotion-
14 focused engagement, and emotion-focused disengagement. The five-point response was used
pp
15
16 to assess the strongly disagree and strongly agree. Questions in each subscale include “I try to
17
let my emotions out,” “I make a plan of action and follow it,” “I hope the problem will take
lie
18
19
20
care of itself” and “I try to spend time alone.” A meta-analysis (Speyer et al., 2016), on
d
21 hemodialysis patients across 13 countries in English (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New
22
23 Zealand), German, and Swedish versions, has displayed an excellent internal consistency with
Re

24
25 (α = 0.56- 0.80, out of which emotion-focused disengagement reported low internal
26
consistency of 0.56).
se

27
28 Academic outcome (Dependent variable)
29
ar

30
31
Well-being
ch

32 The well-being of students was assessed using Diener et al. (1985) satisfaction with life scale
33
34 (SWLS). The scale includes five items with questions like, "In most ways, my life is close to
35
my ideal.” The past studies have validated the scale in different contexts among the different
in

36
37
populations with reliability scores ranging from 0.79 to 0.86 (Lee et al., 2012). Civitci (2015)
38
Hi

39 has demonstrated the moderating role of ECA with perceived stress and life satisfaction of
40
41 college students using SWLS.
gh

42
43 Academic performance
44 Academic performance was measured using the GPA. The GPA was for the concurrent
45
e

46 semester in which the study was conducted. The students’ ID and their consent forms were
rE

47
48 given in the college office to collect the GPA scores of the students participated in the study.
49
The GPA ranges between zero and 10.
du

50
51 5 Results
52
53
ca

54 5.1 Sample characteristics

55
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 11 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 The data were collected from undergraduate students, irrespective of a specific course. The
4
na
5 data collection was done from September 2019 to January 2020. The comparison of students’
6
7 demographic data from the sample and census for the respective batches are shown in table 1.
lo
8
9
Students' demographic data were almost approximately proportional to the total student
10 population of the respective batches. We segregated the demographics of the treatment (n =
fA
11
12 311) and control (n = 122) groups. Further, the data related to the type of ECA participation
13
14 and weekly time spent on ECA participation were evenly distributed among the students.
pp
15
<<Insert table 1 here>>
16
17 5.2 Scale characteristics
lie
18
19 The descriptive statistics of the scales are shown in table 2. The Pearson correlation
20
coefficients indicate a negative correlation of academic stress with other variables, indicating
d
21
22 an inverse association. Whereas coping, GPA and well-being indicate a positive correlation
23
Re

24 among them.
25
26 We estimated the reliability and construct validity using Smart PLS 3, to confirm the
se

27
28
robustness of the instrument before proceeding with the main analysis. The results are
29 presented in table 3. The Cronbach’s Alpha values of all the three constructs (academic stress,
ar

30
31 coping, and well-being) turned out to be above the threshold limit of 0.7 (Hair et al., 2013).
ch

32
33 As an alternative measure of Alpha, we prefer reporting composite reliability following
34
Peterson and Kim (2013). The estimated values are well above the minimum cut-off value of
35
in

36 0.7. Further, the composite reliability values computed on standardised loadings (Rho) also
37
38 confirm the high reliability of the instrument.
Hi

39
40 As a measure of convergent validity, the estimated values of AVE are above 0.5, attesting that
41
gh

42 the individual items together are attributable to more than 50% of variance upon the respective
43
44 constructs (Hair et al., 2013). We are convinced that the discriminant validity assessment
45
e

ensures that the reflective construct has the strongest relationship with its indicators (Fornell
46
rE

47 and Larcker, 1981). This has been established by the relatively high diagonal values of the
48
49 correlation matrix in table 3. Now that all the criteria of robustness check of the scale items
du

50
51 are met let us move on to the main analysis.
52
53 <<Insert table 2 here>>
ca

54
55 <<Insert table 3 here>>
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 12 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3
4
na
5
6 Hypotheses 1 and 4
7
lo
8 Hypotheses 1 and 4 are analysed under the single model to test the mediation of coping
9
10 strategies and moderation of ECA participation using the process modelling (Hayes, 2012).
fA
11
12 The study has two focal outcome variables: well-being and academic performance. The focal
13 antecedent is academic stress, where we examine the mediation effect of coping strategies
14
pp
15 between the focal antecedent and outcome variables. Hence, we ran two analyses to test the
16
17 mediation of coping and moderation of ECA involvement in the process modelling. Model 8
lie
18
19
of Hayes (2012) was used to fit our conceptual model in figure 1. The results of the analysis
20 are shown in table 4. The study also endeavoured to understand the change in coping strategies
d
21
22 at different levels of academic stress, subject to ECA participation.
23
Re

24 Analysis 1: The well-being was loaded as a focal outcome variable in the first analysis, along
25
26 with coping as mediator and participation in ECA as moderator. The gender is loaded as a
se

27
28 covariate to assess the influence of gender. Model 1 in table 4 indicates the indirect effect by
29
first considering the coping as an outcome. The overall predictability of the mediation effect
ar

30
31 is statistically significant; F (4, 428) = 61.528, p<0.001; R2 = 0.365. This indicates that the
ch

32
33 identified predictors (academic stress, participation in ECA, and interaction) create 36.5% of
34
35 the variance in coping, which is statistically significant. The estimated model for coping
in

36
(model 1 in table 4) is as follows.
37
38
Coping = 4.07 - 0.35*Academic stress - 1.26* participation in ECA +
Hi

39
40
41
0.499*Interaction
gh

42
43 The interaction effect indicates that the impact of academic stress on coping is significant,
44
45 irrespective of ECA participation.
e

46
rE

47 The overall model for well-being, as an outcome variable (model 3 in table 4), is recorded to
48
49 be statistically significant with an F (5, 427) = 110.80, p<0.001, and R2 = 0.565. The estimated
du

50
model well-being is as follows.
51
52
53 Well-being = 1.978 - 0.381* Academic stress + 0.664*Coping - 0.362*participation in ECA
ca

54
55 + 0.022*Interaction
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 13 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 It is observed that ECA participation and its interaction with academic stress create no
4
na
5 statistically significant impact on well-being. However, the bootstrap analysis gives evidence
6
7 that the moderated mediation analysis is statistically significant.
lo
8
9 Analysis 2: In the second analysis, academic performance (GPA) was loaded as a focal
10
outcome variable (model 2 in table 4). The overall model for GPA, as an outcome variable, is
fA
11
12
13 statistically significant with an F (5, 427) = 68.876, p<0.001, and R2 = 0.446. It indicates that
14 the identified independent variables attribute a 44.6% effect on the outcome variable, GPA.
pp
15
16 The estimated model GPA is as follows.
17
lie
18
19
GPA = 6.946 - 0.324* Academic stress + 0.221*Coping + 0.175*Gender + 1.680*participation
20 in ECA - 0.130*Interaction
d
21
22
23 It is observed that ECA participation and its interaction create no statistically significant
Re

24 impact on GPA. The effect of gender as a covariate is significant in this model. However, the
25
26 bootstrap analysis gives evidence that the moderated mediation analysis is statistically
se

27
28 significant.
29
ar

30 Mediation analysis indicates a statistically significant partial mediation of the coping strategy
31
between academic stress and students' well-being. The direct effect of academic stress on well-
ch

32
33
34 being (-0.381) is less than the indirect effect (through mediation; -0.381*0.664). With respect
35 to coping as a mediator between academic stress and academic performance, the result
in

36
37 indicates statistically significant evidence of partial mediation. A close examination of the
38
results signifies the direct effect (-0.324) is significantly higher than the indirect effect (-
Hi

39
40
41
0.324*-0.221). A comparative analysis of these two mediations explicates that coping strategy,
gh

42 as a mediator, is more impactful on GPA than on students' well-being.

43
44
45 The result of an examination on the interaction of academic stress (as the focal antecedent)
e

46 and ECA participation (as moderator) on coping capacity indicates that the capability to cope
rE

47
48 increases with the participation in ECA, as shown in figure 2. It indicates that at a high level
49
of academic stress, the coping capability considerably improves with respect to those students
du

50
51
52
who participate in ECA vis-à-vis those who do not participate. In sum, the results from the
53 process analysis partially support hypothesis 1. Further, hypothesis 4, i.e., moderation of
ca

54
55 participation of ECA between academic stress and coping, is fully supported whereas, the
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 14 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3 moderation of ECA participation between academic stress and academic outcome (GPA and
4
na
5 well-being) is not supported.
6
7
<<Insert table 4 here>>
lo
8
9
10 <<Insert figure 2 here>>
fA
11
12 Hypothesis 2
13
14
pp
15 We endeavoured to understand how the nature of participation in ECA (yes/no) influences
16 students' well-being and academic performance. Independent samples t-test was used to
17
lie
18 examine whether there is any statistical evidence to infer that the two outcome variables of
19
20 both groups (participating and not participating students) are different (Hair et al., 2013). The
d
21
22
results of the analysis are shown in table 5. It is understood that students' well-being differs
23 between those participating and those not participating in ECA, with a statistically significant
Re

24
25 test result; t (431) = 17.76; p<0.001; CI (1.028 and 1.284). It is evidenced from the result that
26
the students, who participate in ECA, have reported that their average well-being is 1.156
se

27
28
points higher than that of the other group on a five-point scale.
29
ar

30
31 Similarly, the test results record statistically significant evidence of the influence of
ch

32
33
participation in ECA on academic grade as well; t (349.089) = 20.766; p<0.001; CI (1.513 and
34 1.829). The mean difference between the academic score of the two groups is 1.671. Hence, it
35
in

36 is inferred that participation in ECA can improve students' well-being and academic
37
38 performance. These results support hypothesis 2, showing that participant in ECA has a
Hi

39
positive effect on students' academic performance and well-being.
40
41
gh

42 <<Insert table 4 here>>

43
44 Hypothesis 3
45
e

46
Hierarchical regression analysis was used to understand the effect of different types of ECA
rE

47
48 participation and time spent on ECA participation. A sub-sample (n = 311) of treatment groups
49
du

50 (students who participated in ECA) was analysed to test hypothesis 3. With GPA and well-
51
52 being as outcome variables, the type of ECA participation (i.e., recreation and skill
53
ca

54
development are dummy coded) was entered as the first independent variable. In the next step,
55 weekly time spent on ECA participation was entered as the second independent variable, as
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 15 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 shown in table 6. Model 1 indicates that type of ECA participation (β = 0.159; p = 0.166) has
4
na
5 no significant influence on the outcome variable GPA. Model 1 for the outcome variable of
6
7 GPA is statistically insignificant. In model 2 the inclusion of weekly time spent on ECA
lo
8
9
participation has significant influence on GPA (β = 0.129; p = 0.000). In model 2, the outcome
10 variable of GPA is statically significant, with an R2 value of 0.11. Thus, the time spent on
fA
11
12 ECA participation positively influences the GPA.
13
14 For the well-being outcome, model 1 indicates the significant influence of the type of ECA
pp
15
16 participation (β = -0.158; p = 0.026) on well-being. The students’ participation in skill
17
development clubs negatively influences well-being compared to students from recreation
lie
18
19
20
clubs. Model 1, for the outcome of well-being, is statically significant with an R2 value of
d
21 0.016. Model 2, for the outcome of well-being, indicates that weekly time spent on ECA
22
23 participation is statically not significant (β = 0.24; p = 0.082). However, model 2, for the
Re

24
25 outcome of well-being, is statically significant with an R2 value of 0.026. Hence, the type of
26
ECA participation influences well-being, whereas time spent in ECA participation is not
se

27
28 influencing well-being. In sum, we conclude that hypothesis 3 is partially supported.
29
ar

30
31
<<Insert table 5 here>>
ch

32
33 <<Insert table 6 here>>
34
35
in

36
37
38 6 Discussion
Hi

39
40 The present study intended to understand the intervention of ECA participation in the
41
gh

42 traditional stress-coping model where in academic performance and well-being were

43
44 outcomes. We examined students who participated in ECA (treatment group) and not-
45
e

participated in ECA (control group) using a cross-sectional post-test only quasi-experimental

46
rE

47 design (Leatherdale, 2018) in a natural setting. Our findings offer novel insights regarding the
48
49 intervention of ECA involvement and support the existing literature on academic stress-coping
du

50
and students’ performance.
51
52
53 The moderation analysis unveils that the intervention of ECA participation significantly
ca

54
55 moderates the relationship between stress and coping, whereas the moderation effect is
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 16 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3 insignificant between stress and academic outcomes (GPA and well-being). Thus, ECA
4
na
5 participation does not directly moderate the stress and academic outcome; rather, it enhances
6
7 the ability to cope with a stressful situation, as shown in figure 2. The intervention of ECA
lo
8
9
participation will augment the students’ ability to cope with stressful situations, leading to a
10 better GPA and well-being. The study responded to Skinner and Saxton’s (2019) call to
fA
11
12 integrate intervention-based studies to develop coping and resilience among students.
13
14 The comparison of treatment and control groups helped us look deeper into the difference
pp
15
16 caused by the intervention of ECA participation. The students part of the treatment group were
17
better in academic performance and well-being, indicating the significant impact of ECA
lie
18
19
20
participation. Furthermore, the quasi-experimental design in a natural setting enabled us to
d
21 investigate ECA participation as a "causally active ingredient" (Frydenberg, 2019) needed to
22
23 overcome academic stress. In essence, the findings suggest that participation in ECA is a
Re

24
25 remedy to overcome academic stress and improve the students’ overall academic
26
development.
se

27
28
29 The study results extend the scope of Folkman and Lazarus’s (1985) stress-coping theory to
ar

30
31
an academic context. An intervention similar to ECA participation, like group recreational
ch

32 activity (Tran, 2017), can significantly influence overcoming the stress in a non-academic
33
34 context. Past research has studied the impact of ECA participation on GPA (Craft, 2012),
35
dropout rate (Putnam, 2016), skill development, and network development (Covay and
in

36
37
Carbonaro, 2010). The findings from this study will act as a foundation to develop constructive
38
Hi

39 coping strategies in the form of ECA participation and enhance students’ ability to deal with
40
41 academic stress.
gh

42
43 The results indicate that GPA remains more or less the same for the students who participated
44
45 in different types (recreational and skill development) of ECA. However, the more time spent
e

46
on ECA, the higher the impact on GPA and vice versa. Thus, more active participation in ECA
rE

47
48
will propel the students’ ability to cope with different types of academic stress and improve
49
du

50 performance.
51
52
53 On the contrary, the type of ECA participation influences students' well-being, whereas the
ca

54 time spent on ECA participation does not significantly influence the students' well-being.
55
56 Specifically, the result indicated that the students who participate in recreational activities
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 17 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 express a higher level of well-being than those who participate in skill development activities.
4
na
5 A similar result is observed in Tran (2017), that student’s involvement is significant in
6
7 recreation activity to maintain their well-being, whereas they prefer to join in the skill
lo
8
9
development activities to upgrade their employability skill. Participation in recreational
10 activities like music, dancing, theatrics, sports, photography, and artwork gives more
fA
11
12 happiness and improves students' well-being. In sum, our finding registered that the ECA
13
14 participation could be tuned to fit with different types of academic outcomes. The recreational
pp
15
ECA can improve the students’ well-being, and active participation will positively influence
16
17 GPA.
lie
18
19
20
We found an evidence on the partial mediation of coping strategies. In this regard, we concur
d
21 with past studies that considered GPA as the outcome (Amirkhan et al., 2019; Struthers et al.,
22
23 2000), well-being (Ribeiro et al., 2018; Young et al., 2020). The results also indicate that the
Re

24
25 mediation of coping strategies is more impactful on GPA than on well-being.
26
se

27 7 Practical Implications
28
29
The findings of our study hold implications from two perspectives. First, the intervention of
ar

30
31 ECA participation is identified as a means to deal with academic stress and improve students’
ch

32
33 academic performance and well-being. Our findings specifically examined the intervention of
34
35 ECA participation in the traditional stress-coping model and used the principle of natural
in

36
experiments. This enables us to recommend ECA as a critical tool to reduce academic stress
37
38 and enhance coping capability. Introducing ECA as part of the curriculum will aid students in
Hi

39
40 developing coping in higher education institutions. The ECA, we examined, was student-
41
driven (not part of their curriculum) and was observed very effectively in voluntarily garnering
gh

42
43 students’ participation. Based on this, we also call for more student-driven ECA in comparison
44
45 with institution- or educator-driven.
e

46
rE

47
Second, the insights from type and time spent on ECA participation suggest designing specific
48
49 ECA to craft different student outcomes. Students suffer from different types of difficulties in
du

50
51 their academic journey related to academic performance or well-being. To specifically deal
52
53 with different student-related issues, educators can specifically design ECA that help students
ca

54 to achieve different outcomes. For example, recreational activities like sports, music, dancing,
55
56 and debate clubs will develop the well-being of students.
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 18 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3 8 Limitations and scope for future research
4
na
5
6 The current study adopted a cross-sectional post-test only quasi-experimental design but could
7
not capture the temporal effect on the study variables. However, we used the treatment and
lo
8
9 control groups to study the difference in the phenomenon of interest to overcome this. The
10
study also considered weekly time spent on ECA as a proxy to assess the temporal effect.
fA
11
12
13 Future studies can overcome such limitations by adopting a longitudinal design. The
14 longitudinal design can also be extended to understand students' post-academic (in-job/career)
pp
15
16 behaviour. Such a study design may help address interesting questions like how participation
17
in ECA at the academic level can influence job performance and career development.
lie
18
19
20 The study was conducted in a single university, and the population considered was restricted
d
21
22 to the undergraduate level. This may stifle the ability of our results to generalise to the broader
23
Re

24 student population. Thus, to overcome this limitation, we suggest that future studies to
25 consider a broader sample frame and conduct studies in multiple geographies, bidding better
26
se

27 generalizability.
28
29
9 Conclusion
ar

30
31
The present study has extended the knowledge of the impact of ECA participation in the
ch

32
33
34 academic context. Our findings confirmed the positive effect of ECA participation on
35 academic performance and well-being. The study involved detailed scrutiny of how different
in

36
37 types of ECA participation and time spent on ECA participation affect academic performance
38
and well-being and contribute to ECA participation literature. Furthermore, the study
Hi

39
40
41
contributed to the stress-coping theory by presenting the moderating effect of ECA
gh

42 participation between stress and coping. The study suggests an actionable recommendation in
43
44 the form of ECA participation intervention to improve students' coping ability and enhance
45
e

46 students' academic outcomes.

rE

47
48 References
49
du

50
Addison, C., Campbell-Jenkins, B., Sarpong, D., Kibler, J., Singh, M., Dubbert, P., Wilson,
51
52 G., Payne, T., and Taylor, H. (2007), “Psychometric evaluation of a coping strategies
53
ca

54 inventory short-form (CSI-SF) in the Jackson Heart Study Cohort”, International

55
56 Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol. 4 No. 4, pp. 289–295.
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 19 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 A. C. H. A (American College Health Association), (2019a). American College Health
4
na
5 Association-National College Health Assessment II: Undergraduate Student Executive
6
7 Summary Spring 2019. Silver Spring, MD. Retrieved from (on 30th September 2021)
lo
8
9
https://www.acha.org/documents/ncha/NCHA-
10 II_SPRING_2019_UNDERGRADUATE_REFERENCE%20_GROUP_EXECUTIV
fA
11
12 E_SUMMARY.pdf
13
14 A. C. H. A (American College Health Association), (2019b). American College Health
pp
15
16 Association-National College Health Assessment II: Canadian Consortium Executive
17
Summary Spring 2019. Silver Spring, MD. Retrieved from (on 30th September 2021)
lie
18
19
20
https://www.acha.org/documents/ncha/NCHA-
d
21 II_SPRING_2019_CANADIAN_REFERENCE_GROUP_EXECUTIVE_SUMMAR
22
23 Y.pdf
Re

24
25 AISHE (2020). All India Survey on Higher Education 2019-2020. Government of India,
26
se

27 Ministry of Education, Department of Higher Education. Retrieved from (on 30th

28
29 September 2021)
ar

30
31
https://www.education.gov.in/sites/upload_files/mhrd/files/statistics-
ch

32 new/aishe_eng.pdf
33
34
35 Amirkhan, J. H., Bowers, G. K., and Logan, C. (2019), “Applying stress theory to higher
in

36
education: lessons from a study of first-year students”, Studies in Higher Education,
37
38 Vol. 45 No. 11, pp. 2231–2244.
Hi

39
40 Amirkhan, J. H., and Kofman, Y. B. (2018), “Stress overload as a red flag for freshman failure
41
and attrition”, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Vol. 54, pp. 297–308.
gh

42
43 Bartkus, K. R., Nemelka, B., Nemelka, M., and Gardner, P. (2012), “Clarifying the meaning
44
45 of extra-curricular activity: A literature review of definitions”, American Journal of
e

46
Business Education, Vol. 5 No. 6, pp. 693–704.
rE

47
48
Behtoui, A. (2019), “Swedish young people’s after-school extra-curricular activities:
49
du

50 attendance, opportunities and consequences”, British Journal of Sociology of

51
52 Education, Vol. 40 No. 3, pp. 340–356.
53
ca

54 Ben-Zur, H., and Zeidner, M. (2012), “Appraisals, coping and affective and behavioral
55 reactions to academic stressors”, Psychology, Vol. 3 No. 9, pp. 713–721.
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 20 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3 Bonell, C. P., Hargreaves, J., Cousens, S., Ross, D., Hayes, R., Petticrew, M., and Kirkwood,
4
na
5 B. R. (2011), “Alternatives to randomisation in the evaluation of public health
6
7 interventions: design challenges and solutions”, Journal of Epidemiology &
lo
8
9
Community Health, Vol. 65 No. 7, pp. 582–587.
10 Braun-Lewensohn, O., Alziadana, S., and Eisha, H. (2015), “Coping resources and extra-
fA
11
12 curricular activity as explanatory factors of exposure to violence: Comparing Jewish
13
14 and Arab youth in Israel”, The Journal of Primary Prevention, Vol. 36 No. 3, pp. 167–
pp
15
176.
16
17 Britt-Lutter, S., Zepp, P., Potter, D., Haselwood, C., and Castinado, S. (2017), “The Influence
lie
18
19 of coping strategies and college student outcomes”, Consumer Interests Annual, Vol.
20
63, pp. 1–3.
d
21
22 Buckley, P., and Lee, P. (2018), “The impact of extra-curricular activity on the student
23
Re

24 experience”, Active Learning in Higher Education, 146978741880898.

25
26 Chan, Y.-K. (2016), “Investigating the relationship among extra-curricular activities, learning
se

27
28
approach and academic outcomes: A case study”, Active Learning in Higher
29 Education, Vol. 17 No. 3, pp. 223–233.
ar

30
31 Civitci, A. (2015), “Perceived stress and life satisfaction in college students: Belonging and
ch

32
33 extra-curricular participation as moderators”, Procedia - Social and Behavioral
34
Sciences, Vol. 205, pp. 271–281.
35
in

36 Cook, T. D., and Campbell, D. T. (1979), “Quasi-experimentation: Design and analysis issues
37
38 for field settings, Vol. 351. Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
Hi

39
40 Covay, E., and Carbonaro, W. (2010), “After the bell: Participation in extra-curricular
41 activities, classroom behavior, and academic achievement”, Sociology of Education,
gh

42
43 Vol. 83 No. 1, pp. 20–45.
44
45 Craft, S. W. (2012), “The impact of extra-curricular activities on student achievement at the
e

46
high school level”, Dissertation 543. The University of Southern Mississippi.
rE

47
48 Craig, P., Cooper, C., Gunnell, D., Haw, S., Lawson, K., Macintyre, S., Ogilvie, D., Petticrew,
49
M., Reeves, B., Sutton, M., and Thompson, S. (2012), “Using natural experiments to
du

50
51
52 evaluate population health interventions: new Medical Research Council guidance”.
53 Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Vol. 66 No. 12, pp. 1182–1186.
ca

54
55 Credé, M., and Niehorster, S. (2012), “Adjustment to college as measured by the student
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 21 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 adaptation to college questionnaire: A quantitative review of its structure and
4
na
5 relationships with correlates and consequences”, Educational Psychology Review, Vol.
6
7 24 No. 1, pp. 133–165.
lo
8
9
Deb, S., Strodl, E., and Sun, J. (2014), “Academic-related stress among private secondary
10 school students in India”, Asian Education and Development Studies, Vol. 3 No. 2, pp.
fA
11
12 118–134.
13
14 Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., and Griffin, S. (1985), “The Satisfaction with Life
pp
15
Scale”, Journal of Personality Assessment, Vol. 49 No. 1, pp. 71–75.
16
17 Dunning, T. (2012), “Natural experiments in the social sciences: a design-based approach”,
lie
18
19 Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
20
Folkman, S., and Lazarus, R. S. (1985), “If it changes it must be a process: Study of emotion
d
21
22 and coping during three stages of a college examination”, Journal of Personality and
23
Re

24 Social Psychology, Vol. 48 No. 1, pp. 150–170.

25
26 Fornell, C.G. and Larcker, D.F. (1981), “Evaluating structural equation models with
se

27
28
unobservable variables and measurement error”, Journal of Marketing Research, Vol.
29 18 No. 1, pp. 39-50
ar

30
31 Fredricks, J. A., and Eccles, J. S. (2006), “Extra-curricular involvement and adolescent
ch

32
33 adjustment: Impact of duration, number of activities, and breadth of participation”,
34
Applied Developmental Science, Vol. 10 No. 3, pp. 132–146.
35
in

36 Frydenberg, E. (2019), “Adolescent Coping: Promoting Resilience and Well-being”:

37
38 Abingdon: Routledge.
Hi

39
40 Guilmette, M., Mulvihill, K., Villemaire-Krajden, R., and Barker, E. T. (2019), “Past and
41 present participation in extra-curricular activities is associated with adaptive self-
gh

42
43 regulation of goals, academic success, and emotional well-being among university
44
45 students”, Learning and Individual Differences, Vol. 73, pp. 8–15.
e

46
Hair, J.F., Hult, G.T.M., Ringle, C.M., and Sarstedt, M. (2013), A Primer on Partial Least
rE

47
48 Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Sage, Thousand Oaks.
49
du

50
51 Hayes, Andrew. F. (2012). PROCESS: A versatile computational tool for observed variable
52 mediation, moderation, and conditional process modeling [White paper]. Retrieved
53
ca

54 from http://www.afhayes.com/ public/process2012.pdf

55
56 Hurst, C. S., Baranik, L. E., and Daniel, F. (2013), “College student stressors: A review of the
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 22 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3 qualitative research”, Stress and Health, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 275-285.
4
na
5 Idrissi, H. (2020), “Exploring global citizenship learning and ecological Behaviour change
6
7 through extra-curricular activities”, International Journal of Lifelong Education, Vol.
lo
8
9
39 No.3, pp. 272-290.
10 Jackson, D., Tomlinson, M., and Jackson, D. (2021), “The relative importance of work
fA
11
12 experience, extra-curricular and university-based activities on student employability”,
13
14 Higher Education Research & Development, pp. 1–17.
pp
15
Khan, A., Hamdan, A. R., Ahmad, R., Mustaffa, M. S., and Mahalle, S. (2015), “Problem-
16
17 solving coping and social support as mediators of academic stress and suicidal ideation
lie
18
19 among Malaysian and Indian adolescents”, Community Mental Health Journal, Vol 52
20
No. 2, pp. 245–250.
d
21
22 Knifsend, C. A. (2018), “Intensity of activity involvement and psychosocial well-being among
23
Re

24 students”, Active Learning in Higher Education, Vol. 21 No.2, pp.116-127.

25
26 Kulp, A. M., Pascale, A. B., and Grandstaff, M. (2021), “Types of Extra-curricular Campus
se

27
28
Activities and First-Year Students’ Academic Success”, Journal of College Student
29 Retention: Research, Theory and Practice, Vol. 23, No.3, pp. 747–767.
ar

30
31 Latack, J. C., and Havlovic, S. J. (1992), “Coping with job stress: A conceptual evaluation
ch

32
33 framework for coping measures”, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 13 No. 5,
34
pp. 479–508.
35
in

36 Lau, H.-H., Hsu, H.-Y., Acosta, S., and Hsu, T.-L. (2013), “Impact of participation in extra-
37
38 curricular activities during college on graduate employability: an empirical study of
Hi

39
40 graduates of Taiwanese business schools”, Educational Studies, Vol. 40 No. 1, pp. 26–
41 47.
gh

42
43 Lazarus, R. S., and Folkman, S. (1984), Stress, appraisal, and coping, New York: Springer
44
45 Publishing Company.
e

46
Leatherdale, S. T. (2018), “Natural experiment methodology for research: a review of how
rE

47
48 different methods can support real-world research”, International Journal of Social
49
Research Methodology, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 19–35.
du

50
51
52 Lee, K. H., Besthorn, F. H., Bolin, B. L., and Jun, J. S. (2012), “Stress, spiritual, and support
53 coping, and psychological well-being among older adults in assisted living”, Journal
ca

54
55 of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 328–347.
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 23 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 Loton, D., Stein, C., Parker, P., and Weaven, M. (2020), “Introducing block mode to first-year
4
na
5 university students: a natural experiment on satisfaction and performance”, Studies in
6
7 Higher Education, pp. 1-24.
lo
8
9
Lushington, K., Wilson, A., Biggs, S., Dollman, J., Martin, J., and Kennedy, D. (2015),
10 “Culture, extra-curricular activity, sleep habits, and mental health: a comparison of
fA
11
12 senior high school Asian-Australian and Caucasian-Australian adolescents”,
13
14 International Journal of Mental Health, Vol. 44 No. 2, pp. 139–157.
pp
15
Odle, T. K., Lee, J. C., and Gentile, S. P. (2021), “Do promise programs reduce student loans?
16
17 Evidence from Tennessee Promise”, The Journal of Higher Education, pp. 1-30.
lie
18
19 Oyewobi, L. O., Bolarin, G., Oladosu, N. T., and Jimoh, R. A. (2020). “Influence of stress and
20
coping strategies on undergraduate students’ performance” Journal of Applied
d
21
22 Research in Higher Education.
23
Re

24 Peterson, R. A., and Kim, Y. (2013), “On the Relationship between Coefficient Alpha and
25
26 Composite Reliability”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 98 No.1, pp. 194-198.
se

27
28
Putnam, R. D. (2016), Our kids: The American Dream in crisis. Simon and Schuster.
29 Ribeiro, Í. J. S., Pereira, R., Freire, I. V., de Oliveira, B. G., Casotti, C. A., and Boery, E. N.
ar

30
31 (2018), “Stress and quality of life among university students: A systematic literature
ch

32
33 review”, Health Professions Education, Vol. 4 No. 2, pp. 70–77.
34
Sarma, A. (2014). “Parental Pressure for Academic Success in India”, Doctoral dissertation,
35
in

36 Arizona state university]

37
38 Sasaki, M., and Yamasaki, K. (2007), “Stress coping and the adjustment process among
Hi

39
40 university freshmen”, Counselling Psychology Quarterly, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 51–67.
41 Seow, P.-S., and Pan, G. (2014), “A literature review of the impact of extra-curricular activities
gh

42
43 participation on students’ academic performance”, Journal of Education for Business,
44
45 Vol. 89 No. 7, pp. 361–366.
e

46
Skinner, E. A., and Saxton, E. A. (2019), “The development of academic coping in children
rE

47
48 and youth: A comprehensive review and critique”, Developmental Review, Vol. 53,
49
100870.
du

50
51
52 Speyer, E., Morgenstern, H., Hayashino, Y., Kerr, P. G., Rayner, H., Robinson, B. M., and
53 Pisoni, R. L. (2016), “Reliability and validity of the coping strategy inventory-short
ca

54
55 form applied to hemodialysis patients in 13 countries: Results from the dialysis
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 24 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3 Outcomes and practice patterns study (DOPPS)”, Journal of Psychosomatic Research,
4
na
5 Vol. 91, pp. 12–19.
6
7 Struthers, C., Perry, R., and Menec, V. (2000), “An examination of the relationship among
lo
8
9
academic stress, coping, motivation, and performance in college”, Research in Higher
10 Education, Vol. 41 No. 5, pp. 581–592.
fA
11
12 Sun, J., Dunne, M. P., Hou, X., and Xu, A. (2011), “Educational stress scale for adolescents”,
13
14 Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, Vol. 29 No. 6, pp. 534–546.
pp
15
Thompson, L. J., Clark, G., Walker, M., and Whyatt, J. D. (2013), “It’s just like an extra string
16
17 to your bow”: Exploring higher education students’ perceptions and experiences of
lie
18
19 extra-curricular activity and employability”, Active Learning in Higher Education,
20
Vol. 14 No. 2, pp. 135–147.
d
21
22 Tran, Q. A. (2015), “Factors associated with mental health of medical students in Vietnam: A
23
Re

24 national study” (Doctoral dissertation, Queensland University of Technology)

25
26 Tran, L. H. N. (2017), “Developing employability skills via extra-curricular activities in
se

27
28
Vietnamese universities: student engagement and inhibitors of their engagement”,
29 Journal of Education and Work, Vol. 30 No. 8, pp. 854–867.
ar

30
31 Truc, T. T., Loan, K. X., Nguyen, N. D., Dixon, J., Sun, J., and Dunne, M. P. (2012).
ch

32
33 “Validation of the educational stress scale for adolescents (ESSA) in Vietnam”, Asia
34
Pacific Journal of Public Health, Vol. 27 No. 2, pp. 2112–2121.
35
in

36 Walburg, V. (2014), “Burnout among high school students: A literature review”, Children and
37
38 Youth Services Review, Vol. 42, pp. 28–33.
Hi

39
40 Winstone, N., Balloo, K., Gravett, K., Jacobs, D., and Keen, H. (2020), “Who stands to
41 benefit? Wellbeing, belonging and challenges to equity in engagement in extra-
gh

42
43 curricular activities at university”, Active Learning in Higher Education.
44
45 Yeon, S., Choi, E., and Choi, Y. (2021). “Nursing students’ extra-curricular activity
e

46
experiences of suicide prevention volunteering: A qualitative study”, Nurse Education
rE

47
48 Today, Vol. 102, 104912
49
Young, T., Macinnes, S., Jarden, A., and Colla, R. (2020), “The impact of a well-being
du

50
51
52 program imbedded in university classes: the importance of valuing happiness, baseline
53 well-being and practice frequency”, Studies in Higher Education, pp. 1–20.
ca

54
55
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 25 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 Tables and Figures
4
na
5
6
7 Table 1
lo
8
9
Demographic characters of treatment and control group
10 Description Treatment Group (EcAP) Control Group (non- University Census of
fA
11
12 EcAP) Second-year students
13
14 Gender Male Female Male Female Male Female
pp
15
16
17
Size 174 137 69 53 961 901
lie
18 (55.94%) (44.05%) (50.81%) (49.18%) (51.61%) (48.38%)
19
20 Age
d
21
22 18 to 19 Years 45 (14.46%) 33 (10.6%) 23 15 334 325
23
Re

24
(18.85%) (12.29%) (17.93%) (17.45%)
25 19 to 20 Years 104 85 37 32 443 422
26
se

27 (33.44%) (27.33%) (30.32%) (26.22%) (23.79%) (22.66%)

28
29 Above 20 years 25 (8.03%) 19 (6.10%) 9 6 184 154
ar

30
(12.29%) (4.91%) (9.88%) (8.27%)
31
ch

32 Types of EcAP
33
34 Recreation Clubs 98 (31.51%) 72 - -
35
(23.15%)
in

36
37 Skill development 76 (24.43%) 65 - -
38
Hi

39 Clubs (20.90%)
40
41 Weekly time spent
gh

42
43
on EcAP
44 6 hours/week 60 (19.29%) 51 (16.3%) - -
45
e

46 8 hours/week 59 (18%) 39 (13.5%) - -

rE

47
48 12 hours/week 55 (32.79%) 47 (15.1%) - -
49
du

50
51
52
53
ca

54
55
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 26 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3 Table 2
4
na
5 Descriptive statistics
6
7 Variables Mean SD Correlation Matrix
lo
8
9 AS Coping GPA Well-being
10 AS 3.39 0.629 1 -.25 -.51 -.53
fA
11
12 Coping 3.11 0.482 1 .46 .61
13
14 GPA 7.53 1.184 1 .49
pp
15
16
Well-being 3.09 0.801 1
17 Note: All Correlation coefficients are significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
lie
18
19
20
d
21
22
23
Re

24 Table 3: Construct Validity

25
26 Constructs Reliability Convergent validity Discriminant validity
se

27 Cronbach's rho_A Composite Average Academic Coping Well-

28
29
Alpha Reliability Variance Stress being
ar

30 Extracted
31 (AVE)
ch

32
33 Academic 0.821 0.823 0.874 0.582 0.763
34 stress
35 Coping 0.789 0.801 0.876 0.702 -0.554 0.838
in

36 Well-being 0.788 0.788 0.863 0.611 -0.493 0.686 0.781

37
38
Hi

39
40
41
gh

42
43
44
45
e

46
rE

47
48
49
du

50
51
52
53
ca

54
55
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 27 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3
4
na
5 Table 4
6
7 Process modeling regression table
lo
8
9 Variables Model 1 (Mediation Model 2 DV – Model 3 DV –
10 effect) DV – Coping GPA Well-being
fA
11
12 Constant 4.074*** 6.945*** 1.978**
13
14 Academic Stress -0.355*** -0.323 -0.381
pp
15
16
EcAP -1.256** 1.679 0.361
17 Coping - 0.221* 0.663***
lie
18
19 Gender 0.037 0.175* 0.054
20
Academic Stress X EcAP 0.498*** -0.130 0.022
d
21
22
23 R2 0.365*** 0.4464*** 0.56***
Re

24
25 F Value 61.52 110.8 68.87
26
Notes: n = 433; Process model 8 is used (Hayes, 2012) ⁎ p < .05. ⁎⁎ p < .01. ⁎⁎⁎ p < .001.
se

27
28
29
ar

30
31
ch

32 Table 5
33
Result of independent sample t-test for difference in GPA and well-being among
34
35 treatment and control group.
in

36 Variables Mean SD Levene’s test t-testb

37
38 EcAP non-EcAP EcAP non-EcAP F Sig. T Sig.
Hi

39
40 GPA 8.002 6.331 1.005 0.627 43.78 0.000 -20.76 0.000
41 Well-being 3.42 2.26 0.624 0.570 0.598 0.440 -17.76 0.000
gh

42
43 a Levene's Test for Equality of Variances showed a significance value of > 0.005 for GPA for
44
45 which “equal variances not assumed” option was used.
e

46
rE

47
48
49
du

50
51
52
53
ca

54
55
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education Page 28 of 29
Jo
1
ur
2
3
4
na
5
6 Table 6:
7
lo
8 Result of hierarchal regression analysis for sub-sample of the treatment group
9
10
Variable Model 1 Model 2
fA
11
12 Beta t-value (Sig.) Beta t-value (Sig.)
13
14 For outcome GPA
pp
15
16 Constant 7.931 103.02** 6.836 34.74***
17
Type of EcAP 0.159 1.388 0.132 1.221
lie
18
19 Weekly time spent on EcAP 0.129 5.996***
20
R2 0.006 0.110***
d
21
22
23 F value (sig) 1.925 19.04
Re

24
For outcome well-being
25
26 Constant 3.48 73.40*** 3.28 25.69***
se

27
28 Type of EcAP -0.158 -2.23** -0.163 -2.31**
29
ar

30 Weekly time spent on EcAP 0.24 1.74

31 R2 0.016** 0.026**
ch

32
33 F value (sig) 4.99 4.03
34
35 Notes: n = 311 ⁎ p < .05. ⁎⁎ p < .01. ⁎⁎⁎ p < .001.
in

36
37
38
Hi

39
40
41
gh

42
43
44
45
e

46
rE

47
48
49
du

50
51
52
53
ca

54
55
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60
 Page 29 of 29 Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education
Jo
1
ur
2
3 Figure 1: The Conceptual framework
4
na
5
6
7
lo
8 EcAP (moderate)
9 Well-being
10
fA
11
12
13 Academic Coping
14
pp
stress (mediator)
15
16 Academic
17 performance
lie
18
19 (GPA)
20
d
21
22
23
Re

24
25 Figure 2: Interaction between Academic Stress and EcAP
26
se

27
28 5
29
ar

30 4.5
31
ch

32 4
33
Coping

34 3.5
35 Non-EcAP
3
in

36
EcAP
37
38 2.5
Hi

39
2
40
41 1.5
gh

42
43 1
44
Low Stress High Stress
45
e

46
rE

47
48
49
du

50
51
52
53
ca

54
55
56
tio

57
58
59
n

60

View publication stats