Stuart Slavin

American culture has been referred to as a “melting pot.” Different cultures have added their own distinct aspects to society, making America a diverse country. Despite the plethora of cultures, certain norms, mores, and folkways are evident in American society. These ideas are vital to the function and stability of America. They provide guidelines for what is acceptable and not. In virtually every society, there are people who engage in deviant behavior and do not abide by the values that the rest of society follows. Theorists have debated if people are socialized into acting this way and if it is a social or personal problem. The sociological study of culture focuses on norms, mores, and folkways.

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.

When planning my pre-medical schedule at the University of Iowa, I found a first year seminar titled “Journey to Medical School.” All of the fears, ambitions, and everything I could think of regarding my journey to medical school was covered in the seminar. I left the class feeling terrified, but more than that, excited and prepared for what was to come within my next 8 years. One of the class periods was filled with the intellect of students who currently attend Carver Medical School. During that class period, I was mesmerized by the way the students carried themselves. They talked with poise and grace. Listening to them talk about how their journey was going made my heart putter – I was terrified, yet excited to continue on my own

Whilst students experience the education and the learning course, they might pick out diverse situations linked to academic activities as worrying. Consequently, it is likely that they employ coping strategies to reduce the effects of stress. On the other hand, when these strategies are unsuccessful stress ruins and may lead the students to experience burnout.24 In the current study burnout was found in 79.9% and the burnout subscales among the studied students, were 56.8 % and 60% personal burnout and work-related burnout respectively. whereas 38.2% and 28.9% suffered teacher and colleague burnout correspondingly. In another study done by Chin RWA.2016, in Malaysia using CBI on medical students (67.9%) medical students experienced burnout. Personal burnout was the highest (81.6%), followed by work-related burnout (73.7%) and client-related burnout (68.6%).25 The prevalence of burnout amongst medical students has been found to be comparatively high, between 45% and 71% of students affected in different studies.20,26,27,28 In the current study, work related burnout(academic activities) higher than personal burnout this may be explained as burnout in those students is mainly due to the academic overburden more than the emotional exhaustion. Thus immediate intervention should be done by college administrator to relieve the load on students regarding academic activities.

Mental health is a serious topic that is often not taken seriously. Due to my own struggles with depression, I have experienced the impact mental illness can have on a student’s life. Mental illness can make everyday life feel unbearable and can have just as serious of an effect on a person as a physical illness. The causes of increasing mental health problems in college students are numerous, and it will take work from both students and universities to overcome this problem, but change is necessary for the health of U.S. college students.

Relate to Audience: A lot of college students suffers from depression daily. The stress from being in an unfamiliar environment, working and going to school at the same time can be a very heavy load to deal with. On

Like many of the questionnaires utilized for research in the articles used for this literature review, it was anonymous, and administered and collected during class. This form of data collection provided high turn in rates allowing researchers to have a wide study scale. According to Hicks, T., & Heastie, S., contrasting levels of stress and coping mechanisms were present in these students. It was noted that traditional college students experience more psychological stress than their nontraditional student counterparts. In addition, during the first year of college, the amount of stress experienced by students is the highest in comparison to stress in the remainder of the years. These results are especially important because it stresses the need for a strong health and wellness center within colleges and universities.

Culture is defined as “The ideas, attitudes, customs, beliefs, values and social behaviour of a particular group of people or society that are passed on from generation to generation” (Brentnall, A., n.d.).

   Today a college education can overload students with too many stressful situations. Not only does Stress overload today's college students, but it is also the leading cause of personality disorders. In her essay, Cathy Bell explains that major depressive disorder strikes 5-12% of men and 10-20% of women; half of these people will have more than one occurrence and 15% of them will commit suicide ("Depression for the young"). For instance, many depressives are first recognized and treated during their years in college. For a large amount of people, depression exposes itself because of traumatizing experiences, such as leaving home and/or academic stress. For other students alcohol and drugs become a

Stress is no new phenomenon. It’s been around as long as man and has captivated scholars and physicians alike. With the growing demand for degrees in the professional world comes the growth of the number of college students. The relationship between stress and college students has become the subject of on-going research. Several studies show that stress in college students is increasing with time and the authors of those studies are attributing this to an increased number of students. Other research seems to indicate that it isn’t necessarily the stress that is increasing but the awareness of it. Increased awareness of stress, and its unique toll on individuals, allows colleges and students to recognize

Another obstacle that threatens success is health and emotional issues present prior to attending school. Fogg (2009) reveals that graduate school has a reputation for triggering and amplifying depression and mental illness, especially in those already afflicted by mental health issues. Depression may prevent the individual from fully engaging in discussions, completing assignments or even reaching one’s full potential. Strategies to overcome these obstacles include complying with prescribed mental health medications, seeking support from the university’s free resource center, and focusing on self-care activities.

The impact of stress among college students may have a negative impact on the student’s psychological health. Research indicates that depression rates in college students have been increasingly rising over the years. In 2012, a study was conducted by the National Survey of Counseling Centers which resulted in 91% of the researchers found an increase in students with psychological needs. To resolve college students’ stressors, Surgeon General and additional research studies propose that students who are more active exhibit a decrease in stress, anxiety, and depression. In order to improve and retain a healthy lifestyle, physical activity

“30 percent of freshmen entering college last autumn reported feeling stressed” (Higher Education Research Institute at the UCLA.) A pre-med college student who is over-involved in the college life may deal with a lot of challenges. Some of the challenges an over-involved college student may experience the feeling of being greatly overwhelmed, not having enough time for school work, friends or college clubs. This type of student may not have a good balance of everything. They could become more stressed and sleep deprived which would greatly affect their health. Being extremely stressed out could cause them to get sick, get less sleep, or obtain unhealthy eating habits.

Which collects the health statistics of students from universities all around the world every second year, reported that 40.2 percent of Santa Clara University students identified that stress affected their individual academic performance during the last 12 months of their studies (Temple,2011). Temple (2011) reported a survey conducted in 2004 that assessed the overall well-being of 47,202 undergraduates nationwide. The findings were that 32.4 percent of students recognized stress as the main obstacle to their academic performance. This was said to be above the common cold, depression, death of a relative, sexual assault and eating disorders. Stress is “once considered as the nation’s number one health epidemic; prolonged stress can lead to ulcers, heart disease, stroke, major depression and to a shorter life span” (Temple, 2011).

Society can be defined as an organized group of people within a community who have come together for the purpose of culture, religion, political, or other personal reasons. In today’s society many influences affect the patterns of education regarding curriculum development. What was deemed the norm ten or twenty years ago has been noted as outdated due to technological advancements and many other components within our societies. Culture is deemed as the belief values to a specific society or social group. Education is known to be rich in all aspects as culture is held in the same regards.