Factors That Affect The Academic Performance Of College Students

Family infrastructure and values have changed drastically from the traditional family of years ago; many students attending college arrive ill prepared to navigate the high demands of college expectations. College is more accessible to a mass of diverse individuals with many more first generation college students entering higher education institutions. While students are often times facing identity anxiety, academic stress, and social acceptance challenges, they are also caught up in family home problems such as divorce, family health, first time dealing with relative deaths, and economic strain. So many potential stressors and triggers cause anxiety in many students on their own for the first time. USE Article on the 6 factors for mental health.

Mental disorders are as common among college students as same-aged non-students, and these disorders seem to be growing in amount and severity. It is not unusual for undergraduate students to experience varying levels of anxiety, depression, and stress during their matriculation; some college students experience academic stressors as well as non-academic stressors. Non-academic stressors could include seemingly obvious issues like moving away from family for the first time or some issues that may be harder to recognize like private health concerns. Dr. Richard Kadison, chief of mental health services at Harvard University and author of “College of the Overwhelmed” reported that almost 50% of college students are likely to suffer some degree of

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.

One of the biggest problems among students within post-secondary are the struggling issues of mental health such as depression, anxiety or stress which leads to the failure of adequate nutrition. The age of when mental disorders are clear to one’s self is between the age of 18 to 24 as this is the age of many adolescents are going into higher education (Kessler et al., 2005) . University students who struggle with depression and anxiety majority of the time is caused by the academic stress of being a leading cause of their mental health. As a survey was conducted by campus counselors, many found an outstanding factor of parental pressure for high grades from their child causing many students stress, depression and anxiety which elevates expectations within the student (Watkins et al. 2001, p. 322). These high rates are due to the feeling of being badgered to achieve high grades and maintain their grades while balancing their social life.

The transition from high school to college is a notoriously daunting experience for students entering, arguably, the most important years in their lives. Everything that a student has come to know about academics, for the most part, are to be radically challenged. Many different factors go into the change, and any particular one can be enough to overwhelm any given student into becoming an emotional wreck. Whether it be living on one's own for the first time, drastic schedule changes, or becoming socially involved, these responsibilities are just three examples, among the seeming hundreds. However, a perfect balance between these responsibilities is a major key in not allowing the stressors to take one captive.

Regis College’s number one health concern is stress. The problem has come to be, due to the fact that students come from home, where their parents provided them with guidance, to a situation where they are independent. They have personal responsibility and it may not be completely straightforward for some people. Everyone’s experience is different, but each student experiences stress in some way. The competition for grades, the high expectations, relationships, future career choices, and several other aspects found in the college environment, can lead to stress. Going to college requires changes in daily routine. This includes sleeping adjustments, eating habits, time-management skills, balancing of relationships and several other changes.

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

First off, adjusting to academic factors in the freshmen year can create stress for students in a variety of ways. First of all, first-year students experience stress while trying to keep up with the new academic workloads in college, which are completely different and more challenging than the workloads in high school. To illustrate this, in Alan Schwartz’s article in the

Thesis: The unfamiliar transition into college life makes freshmen second guess their academic abilities, increase their stress and anxiety, and lead them towards depression. Freshmen face innumerable variables that play role in the human psych. Conflicting and battling with stress, anxiety, self-worth and the ultimatum of depression due to the ever changing and unpredictable new world. This paper was written to convey a small portion of these factors and the signs that contribute to them.

This section will offer background information of several aspects of Depression and Anxiety among college students and an overview of the problematic nature of these two conditions on the academic performance.

College students are susceptible to increased anxiety due to academic stress, identity confusion, and complete responsibility.

Personality is a large part of being human, as each person has a unique set of characteristics and traits. One person can be kind and patient and another can be rude and ill tempered. This variability is both what makes the study of personality fascinating and incredibly difficult. Although there are a myriad of different personality traits that can be used to describe a person, psychologists have narrowed it down to five overarching ideas. These are commonly referred to as the “Big Five” personality traits and they consist of, neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, openness, and conscientiousness. In particular, this study will focus on neuroticism, the trait that is characterized by high emotionality and instability, anxiety, and irritability (Soto, John, Gosling, & Potter 2011). Of the five, neuroticism is the only one with a negative connotation, which separates it from the others. Nonetheless, despite its poor reputation, neuroticism is an incredibly important trait to study as it is often linked with anxiety and depression (Soto et al., 2011). For example, one study found that participants who were clinically depressed and those who were not but scored highly on the neuroticism scale both had significantly greater negative self-perceptions (Thomson, 2016). Although currently there is only a correlation between these mental disorders and neuroticism, further experimentation could lead to more conclusive result. Recently, mental health has

Nationwide, no education issue has received more attention with the least progress yet than closing the academic achievement and attainment gaps for minorities. Over the course of time, educational social theorists have increasingly focused on cultural and socioeconomic factors to explain the existing differences in academic achievement among students (Pishghadam & Zabihi, 2011). It is through these cultural experiences, which are widely influenced by cultural and socioeconomic factors, that students attain a certain degree of cultural and social capital that serve as a predictor of their academic success (S. Kim & H. Kim, 2009). Along with cultural and social capital, self-efficacy is also a predictor for students’ academic success because it is an indicator of motivation and perseverance to reach a goal (Bandura, Barbaranelli, Caprara, & Pastorelli, 2001). Of course we know, motivation plays a pivotal role in helping students surpass the obstacles they face. As if the factors affecting the academic achievement and attainment gap were not enough, students in light of self-preservation when seeking approval of significant family members and teachers engage in greater use of self-handicapping (Leondari & Gonida, 2007). Unfortunately, many of these obstacles students face is the result of cultural and socioeconomic factors and therefore beyond their control. The proposed study is designed to increase understanding of the cultural and socioeconomic

There are many ways in which external factors like the people around someone and the environment they live in can affect their academic performances. That person can also affect their own academic performance through internal factors like their mindset and need for a positive self image. The term “mindset” that Carol S. Dweck used in her book “Mindset” refers to how an individual views a situation and how they handle that situation as well. Students’ mindsets are shown by how they handle certain academic problems. For example, a student with a “growth mindset” might fail on a quiz and instead of seeing that failure as a bad thing, they see it as a chance to improve and learn from their

It is in the interest of this study to explore the determinants of such performance and ways of improving the performance.