Esther Y. Strahan's Two-Year Study

In the article, “High Anxiety”, the author, Sandra Long Weaver, analyzes the recent spike in anxiety and depression among college students. Weaver explains that the main problem students are facing when they enter college is anxiety and from that they suffer from depression. She explains that young adults are more aware of life events that affect them such as the job prospect. She explains how increased academic standards and parent involvement contributes to the immense rise of these disorders among college students In a student survey she states that over 50% of students suffer from anxiety because of the academic struggles.

What problem(s) did the researchers study and why? In this study, researchers consider the potential of three separate interventions intended to reduce pathological academic worry. Academic stress in college students is linked to anxiety and depression, as well as generalized anxiety disorder. The self-administered treatments of worry exposure, expressive writing, and pulsed audio-photic stimulation studied to determine their effects on pathological academic worry.

This text proposes to display the results of a study that was conducted by selecting a random sampling of students. Information was gathered and scored about their study habits and their anxiety levels at exam time. The goal was to determine whether or not there was a significant level of correlation between the numbers of hours that students studied in relation to the level of anxiety that the students experienced at exam time. As researchers the aim was to disprove the null hypothesis that states there is no correlation between the two variables and to prove the alternate hypothesis that states that the anxiety at exam time is directly

Social Phobia, also called social anxiety disorder (SAD), is one of the most common, but misconstrued mental health problems in society. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), over 15 million adults suffer from the disorder. First appearing in the DSM-III as Social Phobia, and later in the DSM-IV as Social Anxiety Disorder, this newly established disorder denotes afflicting stress and anxiety associated with social situations (Zakri 677). According to James W. Jefferson, two forms of Social phobia exist: specific and generalized. Specific social phobia indicates anxiety limited to few performance situations, while generalized indicates anxiety in all social situations (Jefferson). Many people often interchangeably link this disorder to shyness––a personality trait. However, although they have striking similarities, the two are divergent. To begin with, SAD has an extensive etiology ranging from multiple factors. Furthermore, symptoms of various aspects accompany SAD. Moreover, SAD has detrimental impacts affecting quality of life. Lastly, SAD has numerous methods of treatment. Social Phobia is prevalent in both women and men beginning at the onset of puberty (ADAA).

The starting pool of participants was 92 undergraduate introductory psychology students. The article did not state how or where they were recruited from, if any compensation was given, age, gender, or any other demographics. The participants were given the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Trait). Those who scored above the 80th percentile were rated high anxious and those who scored below the 22nd percentile were rated low anxious. They were also given the Beck

College represents a form of higher learning. For many, it is also a time for personal growth as we transition into adulthood. This in itself is a stressful situation as one must make drastic adjustments to a new role, environment, and demands. Stress is a major contributor to the development of mental and emotional issues (Rodgers, L., Tennison, L. 2009). Research has been done to determine the impact of depression and anxiety on university students. It has been

also engage in more negative rumination than others, with the best predictors of rumination being social anxiety symptom severity and self-appraisals of performance. (Maree 2004,p143)

Need: According to nami.org, approximately 1 in 5 youth aged 13–18 (21.4%) experiences a severe mental disorder at some point during their life. For children aged 8–15, the estimate is 13%. Research has found that about 90% of individuals who die by suicide experience a mental illness. Social anxiety affects about 15 million individuals across America, most cases start around the age of 13. They often suffer anxiety, difficulty focusing and social challenges. Half of them drop out of high school, in part because many schools don’t manage to meet their needs. (pbs.org)

Among all anxiety problems, social anxiety disorder is most common anxiety issue and third most common problem in all mental complications (American Psychiatric Association, 2000; Hofmann & Bogels, 2006). SAD is a mental disorder which has a tendency to become chronic and badly disturbs normal functions of life if not diagnosed and treated in time (Beesdo-Baum, et al., 2012; Garcia-Lopez, Piqueras, Diaz-Castela, & Ingles, 2008). It is also among the most prevailing mental disorders and is described in Criterion A of DSM-V as “Marked fear or anxiety about one or more social situations in which the individual is exposed to possible scrutiny by others. Examples include social interactions (e.g., having a conversation, meeting unfamiliar people), being observed (e.g., eating or drinking), and performing in front of others (e.g., giving a speech)” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). A specific amount of anxiety is always anticipated socially and helps an individual managing future threats (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). But having social anxiety means that anxiety is too much for normal functioning during social situations and often interferes with

This study was performed to determine if there is a relationship between personality type, test anxiety, self-esteem and academic achievement, which was measured by the students GPA. The study was conducted at a university in Indiana using undergraduatevolunteers. The study used a scale from the MBTI to help determine personality types (introvert or extrovert), also Rosenberg’s 10 - item scale for self-esteem, and Spielberger’s test anxiety inventory.

Anxiety and Depression disorders are two of the most common mental disorders in the United States (Falsafi, 2016). It appears that the two disorders are widespread amongst college students and most cannot manage the high demands and stress (Falsafi, 2016). Therefore, they feel more prone to depression and anxiety (Falsafi, 2016). According to the authors Miller & Chung, mental health amongst college students in the United States is a growing public health concern and educators are concerned about the low academic performance of college students and how it influences their mental health (Miller, & Chung, 2009). Research indicates that university students suffer with low grades and poor academic performances, while trying to manage depression and anxiety (Falsafi, 2016). With the consistence of higher drop out rates, it is imperative that colleges and universities create programs that assist students with managing their depression and anxiety to help them through their education.

To address this phenomenon, researchers have proposed different theories of test anxiety to account for the effects of test anxiety on the deficits of academic performance. According to scholars such as Schmidt and Riniolo (1999), the cognitive aspects of test anxiety - worry and task-relevant thinking - are also present in social anxiety. Therefore, students who experience test anxiety may also suffer from other types of psychological and cognitive problems such as self-esteem, cognitive development, social skills and memory. Essentially, the students who suffer from test anxiety are individuals who are unable to cope with any types of stress. Considering the stressful nature of

Many students pay less attention to various aspects of their physical and social life during university because of the academic pressure they go through. Eventually this builds up and leads to a lot of thinking and mental anxiety for the student which in return can affect their academic performance.

College students are a unique population of people who have a variety of different stressors than people who do not attend college (Holinka, 2015). Post-secondary education is a stressful time for both traditional and nontraditional students (Yarbrough & Schaffer, 1990). Regardless of student status whether it may be traditional, nontraditional, freshman- senior, all students experience stress at one time or another. Trenz, Ecklund-Flores, and Rapoza (2015), illustrate those traditional and nontraditional students both face life stress, anxiety, and depression but manage stress, anxiety-provoking events, and negative situations quite differently. Navigating through a new chapter in life increases the amount of stress on an individual. Interestingly, research shows that traditional and nontraditional student sample score similarly when tested on their emotional satisfaction with their support system—suggesting that differences in support are unlikely to explain differences in stress levels between these two groups (Carney-Crompton & Tan, 2002).

The result clearly indicates that there is no significant difference in social anxiety between male and female. Hence the hypothesis stating that “There is no significant gender difference in State Trait Anxiety of Students” is verified based on available evidences. The mean STAI score of female participants is slightly higher than male participants which indicates that female participants have slightly higher anxiety than male participants. The reason for anxiety being higher in female can be because of the fact that females are subject to more scrutiny in a patriarchal society. During college, students deal with a unique amount of stressors. Specifically, college calls for a significant transition, where “students experience many firsts, including new lifestyle, friends, roommates, exposure to new cultures and alternate ways of thinking,” said Hilary