The Causes And Effects Of Stress In College Students

Stress is a nonspecific response of the human organism to any demand make upon it. It can influence the way we perform on tests and homework and how we act at home or work. There are different types of stress that can occur in the body. Acute stress is the body’s response to imminent danger. This short-term stress usually occurs when we are told we will have a quiz or have to give a speech in class. Chronic stress is a prolonged physical or emotional stress. This can cause damage to the body if the stress lasts for too long. Optimal stress is intense enough to motivate and physically prepare us to perform well but not enough to cause harm to the body.

College has many rewards, but it also has a whole other side that is not talked about. Stress and college seem to go together with each other. Just deciding where you want to go can be a stressful event, never mind the stress from finals or mid-terms. I am going to discuss some of the effects of stress that students have to deal with from one semester to the next.

One topic in psychology I find particularly interesting is the amount of stress that students in this generation are subjected to, specifically while in college. There are many reasons why this topic is interesting to me. The first and obvious reason is because I myself am a college student. Therefore, I have personally experienced the tremendous amount of stress that is put on students. I have also witnessed my friends and peers cope with this stress in various ways, some of which are healthy and some of which are not. I also am interested in this topic because I feel that it is universally an important topic. With the job market being so competitive, and the need for advanced degrees becoming commonplace, students are constantly focused on

In Spring 2014, 43.7% of college students across the United States reported experiencing “above average” levels of stress and 11.0% reported feeling “tremendous” levels of stress within the last 12 months (“Spring 2014 Reference Group” 16). According to a another study done in 2010 by the Higher Education Research Institute at University of California, Los Angeles, college students’ perception of their mental health has been on a steady decline since 1985 (Pryor 2010). Elevated levels of stress while attending college has shown to have negative effects on both mental and physical health, but the article “How Stress Affects Your Heart” emphasizes the threat of stress to physical well being in the long-term as well. Indirectly, the article cites how chronic stress leads to unhealthy habits such as “smoking, being sedentary, overusing alcohol, and eating poorly or overeating”. Unhealthy habits such as these can result in an increased risk of developing hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol (“How Stress Affects Your Heart”). Stress can also directly affect you by increasing hormones that pose threats to cardiovascular health such as adrenaline and cortisol, and acute stress can cause a spike in blood pressure which increases the chance of a heart attack (“How Stress Affects Your Heart”). Therefore, as stress decreases health, enhanced stress in college students contributes to health disparities between students and non-students in the Unites States. However, varying

To begin with, even though stress is often perceived as being bad, it can actually be a good thing in some respects. The right type and amount of stress can actually sharpen the mind and reflexes. The result in the physical manifestations of stress is when hormones are released from when stress produces a physiological reaction in your body. The four primary types of symptoms of stress are known as; physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. Of course, the number of symptoms from each category can vary depending on the individual and the cause of stress.

There are numerous stress factors college students encounter while striving to complete their educational goals. Their grades may be affected by daily life situation stressors that accumulate throughout the semester. Students’ financial needs, lack of social support, family drama, and other various circumstances can all mount up to a tremendous amount of stress and may result in poor grades and lack of collected credits. In fact, stress continues to be a constant issue in people’s lives, (Holmes & Rahe, 1967; Viner, 1999) and these “life demands stressors” are unavoidable and can be overwhelming which directly or indirectly relate to individuals underperforming because of psychological and physiological symptoms

Stressor-strain theory posits that presentation to stressors can adversely affect people’s wellbeing, resulting in behavioral, physical especially imperative considering a few potential stressors are ascending for college students. For instance, college students are paying more for college than any time in recent memory (Fox, Spector & Miles, 2001; Spector, 1998, p.275). Moreover, the frequency and the severity of mental health problems reported by students are expanding and advancements in technology are changing the landscape of the typical college classroom, making the study of college students ' stressors a timely and imperative issue (Kitzrow, 2009). The motivation behind this paper is to review the findings of qualitative research examining college student stressors to understand the major categories of stressors confronting college students nowadays. While the stressors that affect students ' educational life are relationships with its sub-themes and the academics.

The topic I chose for the informative research paper is how stress affects first year college students. I chose this topic specifically because I am a first-year student and can relate to this subject very easily. Having personal experience with how stressful being a student can be, I thought it would be beneficial for myself, as well as others, to discover the most significant factors that affect students the most (i.e. finances, time management, studying, academic pressure for a high GPA).

Whether stress is actually an issue for students continues to be a matter of debate. Although stress has several negative effects, in some situations, stress can be viewed as a good element for students. This referred to as good or healthy stress. According to Renee Jain, studies and research show that stress can benefit a person. For example, a study by the Stanford University School of Medicine found that in some situations stress can help one’s immune system. Moreover, other studies show that stress can allegedly improve one’s learning, decision making, and result in a positive mindset, as stated by Renee Jain. Stress can also be viewed as a way to allow students to understand adulthood and the idea that you have to work hard in order to succeed in life. While talking and interacting with other students, researchers may argue that students do not have enough time to study and complete school work. Despite these studies and oppositions by researchers, I and many others still believe that stress is a troubling

There isn’t a better, more comforting feeling, than coming home after a long, hard day at work or school and being welcomed at the door with a wagging tail, wet kisses, and an excited to see you face from your dog. For many, having any sort of interaction with a pet or animal is the ultimate cure to stress that is caused by work, people, and life. While not every college student is able to have a loving pet in their lives, even a momentary encounter with any animal can lower stress and anxiety levels. Multiple studies have proven that animals are a powerful form of stress relief by not only lowering blood pressure, but also lowering a dangerous stress hormone, cortisol, which is correlated with depression and anxiety. Interactions with animals have also proven to raise oxytocin levels, which are linked to pleasure, relaxation and happiness. Lowering stress and anxiety in college students will help them academically and socially throughout their college lives. College students will experience lower stress levels, a lower level of cortisol, and live a happier stress-free life by interacting with animals or pets throughout their time in college.

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Over the years many studies have been conducted to determine what creates stress and how college students can cope with stress. Stressors in a student’s life can be created through personal, educational and social experiences. A student faces many experiences while transitioning from high school, to college, and into adulthood. These experiences include: living arrangements, personal finances, important career decisions, experiences of failure, interpersonal relationships, and personal finances. These stressors involved with daily hassles can create an unhealthy high pressure environment which makes stress for college students inevitable. During one study, researchers found that physical activity throughout a student’s life can increase one’s stress tolerance and positively cope with stressors (Bland, Melton, Bigham, & Welle, 2012).

Leaving home for the first time and going away for school can be very difficult for some people. In many cases for college freshman this is their first time being away from their home and parents. Many times they get home sick and want to isolate themselves. They have to get into a new routine of going to school, and change can be very difficult. It is definitely hard to get into the swing of college. They have to navigate through classes in a new format while living away from all the comforts of parents. A college student's life usually consists of attending classes, long hours of studying, working at a job (sometimes), and having a social life. Some students work at a job or study harder than others, but

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).

Stress can define as Balancing classes, tests, projects, extra-curricular activities and work is enough to make anyone feel overwhelmed, especially with final exams right around the corner. Having stress in your life is unavoidable, but there are steps students can take to mitigate its effects on their lives and health. Going off to college involves significant adjustments to student daily routine; student sleeping and eating habits, time-management skills, and stress levels will be altered in one way or another. And even though it’s been barely three months since you left high school, you are now expected to be more independent and self-sufficient. Adapting to this new life stage and the inevitable stress that comes with